The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven

Japan Railways Group The Japan Railways Group, more commonly known as the or simply JR, consists of seven for-profit stock companies that took over most of the assets and operations of the government-owned Japanese National Railways (JNR) on April 1, 1987. Mo ...

companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in

Yoyogi is a neighbourhood in the northern part of Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Geography The area encompassed by Yoyogi is typically defined two ways: * Only the five Yoyogi . * The former , corresponding roughly to the area south of National Route 20 (K� ...

Shibuya Shibuya ( 渋谷区 ''Shibuya-ku'') is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. As a major commercial and finance center, it houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station (southern half) and Shibuya Station. As of April 1 ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, and next to the Shinjuku Station. It is listed in the

Tokyo Stock Exchange The , abbreviated as Tosho () or TSE/TYO, is a stock exchange located in Tokyo, Japan. It is the third largest stock exchange in the world by aggregate market capitalization of its listed companies, and the largest in Asia. It had 2,292 listed ...

(it formerly had secondary listings in the

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...

and

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

stock exchanges), is a constituent of the

TOPIX , commonly known as TOPIX, along with the Nikkei 225, is an important stock market index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) in Japan, tracking all domestic companies of the exchange's Prime market division. It is calculated and published by the ...

Large70 index, and is also one of the three only

constituents of the

Nikkei 225 The Nikkei 225, or , more commonly called the ''Nikkei'' or the ''Nikkei index'' (), is a stock market index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). It has been calculated daily by the '' Nihon Keizai Shimbun'' (''The Nikkei'') newspaper since 1950 ...

index, the other being JR Central and

JR West , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, an ...

History

JR East was incorporated on 1 April 1987 after being spun off from the government-run

Japanese National Railways The abbreviated JNR or , was the business entity that operated Japan's national railway network from 1949 to 1987. Network Railways As of June 1, 1949, the date of establishment of JNR, it operated of narrow gauge () railways in all 46 pref ...

(JNR). The spin-off was nominally "privatization", as the company was actually a wholly owned subsidiary of the government-owned

JNR Settlement Corporation The , or JNRSC, was a temporary holding company created to distribute the assets of the former Japanese National Railways (JNR) after its privatization in the mid-1980s. On October 22, 1998, the JNRSC was disbanded and placed under the Japan Rail ...

for several years, and was not completely sold to the public until 2002. Following the breakup, JR East ran the operations on former JNR lines in the

Greater Tokyo Area The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous metropolitan area in the world, consisting of the Kantō region of Japan (including Tokyo Metropolis and the prefectures of Chiba, Gunma, Ibaraki, Kanagawa, Saitama, and Tochigi) as well as the ...

, the

Tōhoku region The , Northeast region, or consists of the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. This traditional region consists of six prefectures (''ken''): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata. Tōhoku reta ...

, and surrounding areas.

Lines

Railway lines of JR East primarily serve the

Kanto Kantō (Japanese) Kanto is a simplified spelling of , a Japanese word, only omitting the diacritics. In Japan Kantō may refer to: *Kantō Plain *Kantō region *Kantō-kai, organized crime group *Kanto (Pokémon), a geographical region in the ' ...

and Tohoku regions, along with adjacent areas in Kōshin'etsu region ( Niigata,

Nagano Nagano may refer to: Places * Nagano Prefecture, a prefecture in Japan ** Nagano (city), the capital city of the same prefecture *** Nagano 1998, the 1998 Winter Olympics *** Nagano Olympic Stadium, a baseball stadium in Nagano *** Nagano Universi ...

, Yamanashi) and

Shizuoka Shizuoka can refer to: * Shizuoka Prefecture, a Japanese prefecture * Shizuoka (city), the capital city of Shizuoka Prefecture * Shizuoka Airport * Shizuoka Domain, the name from 1868 to 1871 for Sunpu Domain, a predecessor of Shizuoka Prefecture ...

prefectures A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

Shinkansen

JR East operates all of the

Shinkansen The , colloquially known in English as the bullet train, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan. Initially, it was built to connect distant Japanese regions with Tokyo, the capital, to aid economic growth and development. Beyond l ...

, high-speed rail lines, north of Tokyo, except the

Hokkaido Shinkansen The is a Japanese high-speed Shinkansen rail line that links up with the Tōhoku Shinkansen in northern Aomori Prefecture in Honshu and continues on into the interior of Hokkaido through the undersea Seikan Tunnel. Construction started in May ...

, which is operated by

JR Hokkaido The is one of the constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group), and is often referred to using its official abbreviation of . It operates intercity and local rail services in Hokkaido, Japan. The company introduced Kitaca, a sm ...

. *

Tōhoku Shinkansen The is a Japanese high-speed Shinkansen rail line, connecting Tokyo with Aomori in Aomori Prefecture in a route length of , making it Japan's longest Shinkansen line. It runs through the more sparsely populated Tōhoku region of Japan's main ...

(Tokyo - Shin-Aomori) * Jōetsu Shinkansen (Tokyo - Niigata; Echigo-Yuzawa - Gala Yuzawa) *

Hokuriku Shinkansen The is a high-speed Shinkansen railway line jointly operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West), connecting Tokyo with in the Hokuriku region of Japan. The first section, between and in Nagano Pr ...

(Tokyo - Jōetsumyōkō) *

Yamagata Shinkansen The is a Mini-shinkansen route in Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It provides service between Tokyo and Shinjō in Yamagata Prefecture over the tracks of the Tohoku Shinkansen and the Ōu Main Line. The term Yamag ...

(Tokyo - Shinjo) * Akita Shinkansen (Tokyo - Akita) The Tokyo–Osaka

Tōkaidō Shinkansen The is a Japanese high-speed rail line that is part of the nationwide Shinkansen network. Along with the Sanyo Shinkansen, it forms a continuous high-speed railway through the Taiheiyō Belt, also known as the Tokaido corridor. Opened in 1964, ...

is owned and operated by the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central), although it stops at several JR East stations.

Kanto regional lines

These lines have sections inside the Tokyo suburban area ( ja, 東京近郊区間, links=no) designated by JR East. This does not necessarily mean that the lines are fully inside the

Koshinetsu regional lines

Tohoku regional lines

Train services

Below is the full list of limited express (including Shinkansen) and

express train An express train is a type of passenger train that makes a small number of stops between its origin and destination stations, usually major destinations, allowing faster service than local trains that stop at most or all of the stations alo ...

services operated on JR East lines as of 2022.

Shinkansen

*'' Asama'' *''

Hakutaka The is a high-speed ''shinkansen'' train service jointly operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West) between and on the Hokuriku Shinkansen line in Japan. The shinkansen service was introduced o ...

'' *''

Hayabusa was a robotic spacecraft developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to return a sample of material from a small near-Earth asteroid named 25143 Itokawa to Earth for further analysis. ''Hayabusa'', formerly known as MUSES-C fo ...

'' *'' Hayate'' *''

Kagayaki The is a high-speed ''shinkansen'' train service jointly operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West) between and on the Hokuriku Shinkansen line in Japan. The shinkansen service was introduced o ...

'' *'' Komachi'' *''

Nasuno The is a train service operated on the Tōhoku Shinkansen by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Japan. It serves all stations between and , a medium-sized city approximately 225 km north of Tokyo.JR Timetable, December 2008 Origin ...

'' *'' Tanigawa/Max Tanigawa'' *'' Toki/Max Toki'' *'' Tsubasa'' *''

Yamabiko The is a high-speed Shinkansen train service operated on the Tōhoku Shinkansen between and by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Japan. Name The word ''yamabiko'' is usually translated as 'echo', particularly one which is heard in the ...

Limited express (daytime)

*'' Akagi/Swallow Akagi'' *''

Azusa Azusa may refer to: Relating to California From a Native American language, likely Tongva language, Tongva ''Asuksagna:'' *Azusa, California, a city in the United States *Azusa Pacific University, a Christian-based institution in Azusa, California ...

'' *'' Fuji Excursion'' *''

Hitachi () is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is the parent company of the Hitachi Group (''Hitachi Gurūpu'') and had formed part of the Ni ...

'' and ''

Tokiwa Tokiwa, usually written , , or , may refer to: Places *Tokiwa, Fukushima, a town in the north of Japan's main island *Tokiwa, Aomori, a village in the far north of Japan's main island Colleges and universities *Tokiwa Junior College, Mito, Ibaraki ...

'' *'' Inaho'' *'' Kaiji/View Kaiji/Hamakaiji'' *'' Kusatsu'' *''

Narita Express , abbreviated as N'EX, is a limited express train service operated in Japan since 1991 by East Japan Railway Company (JR East), serving Narita International Airport from various Greater Tokyo Area stations. Services run approximately half-hou ...

'' *''

Nikkō is a city located in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 80,239 in 36,531 households, and a population density of 55 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . It is a popular destination for Japanese and ...

and Kinugawa'' *'' Saphir Odoriko/Odoriko'' *'' Sazanami'' * ''Shirayuki'' *''

Shiosai The is a limited express train service in Japan operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It runs from and to on the Bōsō Peninsula in Chiba Prefecture. Station stops ''Shiosai'' services operate over the Sōbu Main Line, stop ...

'' * ''Shōnan'' *''

Tsugaru Tsugaru (津軽) may refer to: * Tsugaru, Aomori, a city of Aomori Prefecture, Japan * Tsugaru Peninsula * Tsugaru Strait, between Honshū and Hokkaidō ** Tsugaru Kaikyō Ferry, a ferry crossing this strait * Tsugaru-jamisen, a traditional style of ...

'' *''

Wakashio The is a limited express train service in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It runs from to and on the Bōsō Peninsula in Chiba Prefecture. Station stops ''Wakashio'' services operate over the Keiyo Line and S ...

Limited express (overnight)

*''

Sunrise Izumo The is an overnight sleeping car train service in Japan operated jointly by Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West) since July 1998. Operations The ''Sunrise Izumo'' runs daily between and in Shima ...

''/''

Sunrise Seto The is an overnight sleeping car train service in Japan operated jointly by Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West) since July 1998. Operations The ''Sunrise Seto'' runs daily between and in Kagawa ...

'' (not operated by JR East, operated by JR Central and JR-West over the Tokaido Main Line, part of which JR East owns between Tokyo and

Atami is a city located in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 36,865 in 21,593 households and a population density of 600 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Atami is located in the far ea ...

)

Stations

During fiscal 2017, the busiest stations in the JR East network by average daily passenger count were: # Shinjuku Station (778,618) #

Ikebukuro Station Ikebukuro Station ( ja, 池袋駅, ) is a major railway station located in the Ikebukuro district of Toshima, Tokyo, Japan, shared by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East), Tokyo subway operator Tokyo Metro, and the two private railway operato ...

(566,516) #

Tokyo Station Tokyo Station ( ja, 東京駅, ) is a railway station in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The original station is located in Chiyoda's Marunouchi business district near the Tokyo Imperial Palace, Imperial Palace grounds. The newer Eastern extension is ...

(452,549) #

Yokohama Station is a major interchange railway station in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. It is the busiest station in Kanagawa Prefecture and the fifth-busiest in the world as of 2013, serving 760 million passengers a year. Lines Yokohama Station is served by the ...

(420,192) # Shinagawa Station (378,566) #

Shibuya Station is a railway station in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, operated jointly by East Japan Railway Company (JR East), Keio Corporation, Tokyu Corporation, and Tokyo Metro. With 2.4 million passengers on an average weekday in 2004, it is the fourth-busiest ...

(370,669) #

Shimbashi Station is a major interchange railway station in Tokyo's Minato, Tokyo, Minato Ward, located centrally and a 10-minute walk from the Ginza shopping district, directly south of Tokyo station. Station layout JR East The JR East station consists of thre ...

(277,404) # Omiya Station (255,147) #

Akihabara Station is a railway station in Tokyo's Chiyoda ward. It is at the center of the Akihabara shopping district specializing in electronic goods. Lines Akihabara Station is served by the following lines. JR East: * Tōhoku Main Line ** Keihin-Tohoku ...

(250,251) # Kita-Senju Station (217,838)

Subsidiaries

*Higashi-Nihon Kiosk - provides newspapers, drinks and other items in station kiosks and operates the Newdays

convenience store A convenience store, convenience shop, corner store or corner shop is a small retail business that stocks a range of everyday items such as coffee, groceries, snack foods, confectionery, soft drinks, ice creams, tobacco products, lottery ticket ...

chain *JR Bus Kanto / JR Bus Tohoku - intercity bus operators *Nippon Restaurant Enterprise - provides ''

bentō A is the Japanese cuisine, Japanese iteration of a single-portion take-out or home-packed meal, often for lunch. Outside Japan, it is common in other East and Southeast Asian culinary styles, especially within Chinese cuisine, Chinese, Korean c ...

'' box lunches on trains and in train stations *

Tokyo Monorail The , officially the , is a straddle-beam, Alweg-type monorail line in Tokyo, Japan. It is an airport rail link that connects Tokyo International Airport (Haneda) to Tokyo's Ōta, Shinagawa, and Minato wards. The line serves 11 stations betwe ...

- (70% ownership stake) *East Japan Marketing & Communications

Sponsorship

JR East co-sponsors the JEF United Chiba

J-League The , known as the for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the system. Founded in 1992, it is one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football. Contested by 18 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the J ...

football club , which was formed by a merger between the JR East and

Furukawa Electric is a Japanese electric and electronics equipment company. The company was founded by Furukawa Ichibei in 1884 in Yokohama when a copper-smelting facility and a wire manufacturing factory were established. Furukawa was a Japanese businessman w ...

company teams.

Environmental issues

JR East aims to reduce its carbon emissions by half, as measured over the period 1990–2030. This would be achieved by increasing the efficiency of trains and company-owned

thermal power station A thermal power station is a type of power station in which heat energy is converted to electrical energy. In a steam-generating cycle heat is used to boil water in a large pressure vessel to produce high-pressure steam, which drives a stea ...

s and by developing hybrid trains.

Union issues

The

Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department The serves as the prefectural police department of Tokyo Metropolis. Founded in 1874, it is headed by a Superintendent-General, who is appointed by the National Public Safety Commission, and approved by the Prime Minister. The Tokyo Met ...

has stated that JR East's official union is a front for a revolutionary political organization called the

Japan Revolutionary Communist League (Revolutionary Marxist Faction) The Japan Revolutionary Communist League (Revolutionary Marxist Faction) ( ja, 日本革命的共産主義者同盟革命的マルクス主義派, Nihon Kakumeiteki Kyōsanshugisha Dōmei, Kakumeiteki Marukusu Shugiha) is a Japanese Trotskyist r ...

. An investigation of this is ongoing.

East Japan Railway Culture Foundation

The East Japan Railway Culture Foundation is a non-profit organization established by JR East for the purpose of developing a "richer railway culture". The

Railway Museum A railway museum is a museum that explores the history of all aspects of rail related transportation, including: locomotives ( steam, diesel, and electric), railway cars, trams, and railway signalling equipment. They may also operate historic e ...

in Saitama is operated by the foundation.

Bids outside Japan

JR East holds a 15% shareholding in

West Midlands Trains West Midlands Trains (WMT) is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates passenger trains on the West Midlands franchise between London and the English Midlands under two trade names: West Midlands Railway (WMR) (within the ...

with Abellio and

Mitsui is one of the largest '' keiretsu'' in Japan and one of the largest corporate groups in the world. The major companies of the group include Mitsui & Co. ( general trading company), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Nippon Paper Industri ...

that commenced operating the West Midlands franchise in England in December 2017. The same consortium has also been listed to bid for the

South Eastern franchise The South Eastern franchise, also known as the Integrated Kent franchise, is a railway franchise for the provision of passenger services between London and Kent in South East England. History The South Eastern franchise was formed as a shadow ...

.South Eastern franchise bidders announced
''

Railway Gazette International ''Railway Gazette International'' is a monthly business magazine and news website covering the railway, metro, light rail and tram industries worldwide. Available by annual subscription, the magazine is read in over 140 countries by transport p ...

'' 22 June 2017

References

External links

East Japan Railway Company Web Site (in English)
* Wiki collection of bibliographic works on East Japan Railway Company {{Authority control Transport companies based in Tokyo Companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Railway companies established in 1987 1500 V DC railway electrification 25 kV AC railway electrification Japanese companies established in 1987