@@Unownshipper Than why does the US incorporate so much of that fear in their corporate culture? Have seen it and been subjected to it multiple times in various work environments during my lifetime. I refer to it as "Theory X Management". Or as we say on the factory floor "the beatings will continue until moral improves". So sad on so many levels.
@@williebeamish5879 it’s deeply ingrained in all of US culture, not just business. People who parent their children through fear rather than guidance and are convinced you can’t teach kids “respect” without making them afraid are everywhere. That’s why that stuff ends up in business, too. I imagine Japan is similar in this way
To this day, the Japanese version of JR West's homepage continues to maintain a prominent notification stating that they will not forget the lessons of what they call the Fukuchiyama Line Train Incident and pledge to maintain the utmost safety and reliability of the railway. It results in occasional delays that private lines wouldn't slow down/stop for, but the public has largely accepted this sometimes schedule slippage.
A stark contrast to western companies, who always trying to hide everything, like WWF Chris Benoit, or even other Japanese companies like Konami that are trying to erase P.T. from existence.
One thing I've heard all my life is how much Japanese business men and women treat their jobs the way a medieval knight would. When they fail, they hand their proverbial cloak and armor over to someone else and retire; alternatively they pay their employees from their own private wealth until the company recovers. Honor is a Japanese stereotype for a reason, but obviously it's a double-edged sword (pun intended) as one submits to authority blindly. I've learned that many soldiers killed themselves right after World War 2 ended instead of going home to their families in defeat.
Both are a part of Japanese culture. You can write book on the fact it will never happen again but because of the same culture it was almost inevitable that it happened once.
@@kenjcm Yes, but compare with your average corporation in the US or Europe that would try to weasel its way out of any responsibility with an armada of lawyers.
It should also be noted that after the incident, at least some former JR West employees did report physical punishment as well. So it is very possible that the driver was afraid of that as well.
@@Die-Angst The abuse the employees suffered in their punishments was truly horrid, far worse than the video here lets on. Afraid is an understatement, Takami was absolutely terrified out of his mind
Thanks. I arrived in Japan just weeks after this happened. I remember having to transfer to another train line since JR had closed a large section of track. At the JR gate, there was a line up of train employees bowing and apologizing to every transferring passenger. It took me a long time to piece together how terrible this accident really was.
this accident was a real earthquake in the Japanese railway world....JR changed a lot after that (It influenced the other JRs, like JR East and JR Central). was among others and particularly in cities with large urban rail networks. The installation of ATS-P (automatic braking if the train exceeds the speed limit for x second) followed very quickly and is used by all operators, private or not. there has also been a big change in the management of railway companies.
@@akschmidt2085 well you have to understand the japanese cultural perspective on bowing and apologizing. they're not groveling and begging for mercy, it's their cultural equivalent of a somber palm on top of a handshake and a nod with some condolences. i'm sure it was performed earnestly and received graciously even if it looks bizzare and feudal.
@@akschmidt2085 that how customers service industry work. Most workers had to low their egos and have to be ready to apology even though it's not their mistake. That what I learned and I'm a shit person who have a ton emotions so I quit 😅
I saw a TV programme about this once. The comment I remember the most is from a parent of one of the passengers who died. He said that at first he blamed the driver for the death of his daughter, but as more and more was revealed about the accident, now felt that the driver was another victim of the crash.
When Japanese people as asked what they dislike about their country, many answer with “It’s too strict.” This is definitely a testament to that. They should definitely start pushing “Safety First” a little more than “Punctuality First”. JR West definitely learned this the hard way.
@@danjackson2014 To be fair, we have nanny states in much of the west, but they also have incompetent authorities and selective enforcement of the rules (such as California).
not to be *that* guy, but this is not exclusive to Japan’s corporate culture. at least this type of negligence is not exclusive. corporate culture kills in general
@@daftnote You're right that Japan's notoriously stringent office culture is an offshoot of corporate culture that you could find in any country, but it's especially bad in Japan, that's all I was saying. A lot of East Asia (eg. Singapore, the Chinese coastal cities) have a comparable toxic work culture tbf
@@nicholaslewis862 the US’s work culture is AWFUL too. So often people are asked to come into work while they’re AT A FUNERAL. They’re reprimanded for not coming into work while in the hospital. Businesses cut corners to have things done on time because projects being delayed carries heavy punishment. Food workers come into work sick because they can’t afford to get in trouble for not showing up, but that just causes them to spread whatever they may have to their coworkers and even customers. People with painful injuries have to go to work before they’re totally healed, often delaying or even completely preventing the injury from healing fully. Employees die on the job due to being overworked (like at Amazon). People my age (early 20s) don’t take our breaks because we feel like we’re not supposed to, we’ll lower productivity and be yelled at if we do. The US has long prioritized profit over people and it causes a lot of major issues
@@Astrologus-Auctrix I've heard wagie horror stories coming out of the US. It sounds horrendous, and I believe you wholeheartedly. I've never lived there though, so I can't really speak to it. Thanks for your insight!
@@Astrologus-Auctrix It’s very reassuring that so many members of your generation have a comprehensive grasp of labor abuse & exploitation; for mine (X) we were often brainwashed by elders that all of this was acceptable or even that we were generally at fault by not being sufficiently dedicated, hardworking, flexible, ambitious, sacrificing, etc.
It's strange how the timetables are strictly enforced, but speed limits weren't. I noticed it was similar on Japan's roads - everyone drives courteously, parking is very stricty, but the speed limits are totally ignored and seemingly unpoliced.
Didn't the derailment happened because the train was breaking speed limits for that curve.the driver under presssure made mistakes that caused the derailment.
@@shanjida8353 I think what OP meant wasn't that there aren't any speed limits in Japan, but they aren't really enforced by the authorities. Laws can be in place, but if no one enforces then then there's no real punishment for breaking them until a catastrophe like this occurs.
@@Thekoodie It isn't just a Japanese thing though. Most drivers in most countries feel secure enough about speeding punishments not being metted out, that they routinely break the speed limit on roads. I've heard drivers saying things like "You can go up to 15 miles over the speed limit and won't get ticketed" and "Speed limits are just suggestions here", it's an utter disgrace.
@@MrZoolook In Pennsylvania that's the law: You cannot be ticketed for going up to seven miles per hour over the posted speed limit. I know several PA State Troopers, and they have told me that they normally won't pull over anyone unless they're going more than 20 mph over, at least in rural sections of the state and interstate highways where traffic is relatively sparse. In fact, one told me that on Interstate 99 between Bedford and Altoona, he doesn't bother pulling over someone on that stretch unless they're going over 100 mph. (It is flat, straight, and has hardly any traffic.)
@@mournblade1066 Yes, which is the point. If the speed limit is posted as 50, but you're allowed to go 57 without fear of repurcussions, you get a situation where the authorities encourage and allow criminal behaviour. That's a problem from my perspective. There's no point in having speed limits if you don't enforce them, and literally tell drivers they can ignore them.
I cannot recommend reading JR’s website enough. Seriously, I have never ever seen language like it. The first line reads: “On April 25, 2005, we at the West Japan Railway Company caused the Accident on the Fukuchiyama Line, an extremely serious accident resulting in 106 fatalities and more than 500 injured passengers.” Links are in the video description.
@@garytanger965 even more impressive is how public they are about it. It takes precisely one click to find mention of the accident. Go to the homepage and then click “about us.” It’s right there. Incredible stuff.
Another series, I believe Seconds From Disaster, also covered the use of what's called confined space medicine in this disaster, which is a treatment administered to victims trapped under things. When blood flow is blocked toxins build up that can kill the victim when they're freed, csm pushes fluids into a patient before they're freed to flush the toxins away more effectively. A lot of lives were saved that way. I love these videos!
He's been on a roll covering Seconds from Disaster episodes recently, though to be fair I was the one that suggested most of these SFD incidents to be covered :P Crush syndrome is what I believe you're referring to, a nasty situation where dead muscles disintegrate into toxic goop in a process known as rhabdomyolysis, that can then be fatal if it hits the bloodstream
That's fascinating. To be able to provide that life saving measure must be wonderful. It's bad enough to find yourself trapped in a horrific situation, let alone having a huge potential to die even if you are freed initially and think you are safe. I can see why toxins could build in that situation. Talk about bad luck!😞
Japan lies in a seismically active region. Stands to reason that their emergency services would be trained in working with people who are trapped and / or crushed in the sort of confined spaces that result from earthquake and tsunami damage.
I remember this story from when I was a kid. The owner of the Ramen shop near my Grandparents’ place lost their daughter to this accident, and had to close down their shop so that they could raise their grandchild. I didn't realize what had happened to them though until I had returned to Japan about a year or two later. To this day, I've regretted that I never got a chance to express my condolences to them for their loss and to express my gratitude for the kindness they had shown me during my prior visits. I truly hope they have been able to find peace since this tragedy.
@@theshermantanker7043 Finding peace isn't about never grieving. It's about accepting what has happened and understanding that there is nothing you can do to change it. You can still mourn the loss of your child and go on to find peace with what was, what is, and what will be.
I remember seeing a documentary about this. The verbal abuse section of the disciplinary procedure was terrible you were made to sit in a room while someone shouted at you and called you a disgrace abd a failure
Treatment like that results in obsessive-compulsive behaviour combined with inability to respond appropriately to unusual situations.treat adults like toddlers for long enough and they start responding like toddlers. 107 lives lost,just for the sake of a few minutes... The Japanese culture has some strange aspects.
@@davidhollingdale5408 that policy really was inexcusable. I work in safety and my golden rule is no job is so important that it can't be done safely. I try to empower my lads to be able make the right decisions and I'll push back against any supervisor trying to push them to cut corners or do the job unsafely.
@@tullyDT It's important to do things safely because nothing disrupts a schedule like shutting down to handle an emergency. More than one video on this channel is about someone not following protocol and either getting killed or killing someone else. "Never short-cut safety or defer maintenance" is probably my #1 lesson learned watching these.
When people talk about hostile Japanese work culture, this is the sort of stuff they mean. There's a reason why so many young people in Japan have essentially dropped out of the workforce and sometimes even refuse to leave their homes.
I remember in Tokyo receiving an apology email because a pre-booked train that I'd bought a ticket on was about 30 seconds late. It had a full explanation of the reason for lateness (an elderly passenger at a station earlier had taken a long time to get off the train) and a helpline I could call if I wanted to persue a formal complaint. Meanwhile, at home in the UK, a train has to be over 30 minutes late before the train company even officially has to acknowledge it as "late" and give you any kind of money back. And that's only, again, if you've pre-booked a ticket on that specific train. If you have an anytime ticket, it can be as late as it wants and you're likely getting nothing back. Of course, not excusing the culture that led to this tragedy - just trying to highlight the very specific standards that Japanese railways hold themselves to.
The UK rail system is so far beyond fucked up it's insane. Just imagine the fines for accidentally leaving your ticket on the train at your stop. Something like 80 pounds 10 years ago. Never going there again
It may not get out of Japan so much, but it's well known here that there were also instances of physical abuse of employees who operated delayed trains. They would be physically assailed and the driver was probably fearing that type of discipline in particular.
I can understand the problem of one train making many others late. Where I live, the trains only wait for each other if they are physically in the way, which creates a different service problem. But I cannot wrap my mind around the apparent inability of so many people in charge to rationalize what a delay of seconds actually means for people. Even if you delay the entire rail grid by a minute, by the nature of public transit, most passengers aren't on that tight of a schedule from genkan to genkan, and those that are will only need to walk quickly. If they want to have a disciplinary structure to that level of delay, fine, but it should be proportionate to the level of actual harm done.
@@adde9506 Their timetable is so tight and full, it can created jam in their line. It can be seen from either the signal block distance is too short, or too much train occupied all of the signal block on entire line
Japanese train lateness is measured in seconds? Damn, that's impressive! To put it into perspective, I'm watching this from the UK as I'm waiting for my train....which is now 38 minutes late.
YES. In the USA, it's usually measured only after 6 minutes...and the rules are always: we'll sacrifice the schedule if safety requires it. Where I am, the agency is so banal about speeding that the local buses are capped at 40 mph (they would do lower but that's the minimum interstate highway speed).
@@boycottnok1466 no it isn't. A late train with passengers on board who paid their fare will still make profit. Just very slightly less profit. But a 5 minutes delay won't turn it into a loss making operation.
Every time I watch one of these train derailment videos I'm reminded of how lucky my town was when a drunk (if rumor is to be believed, coked out) woman parked her SUV on the tracks and derailed a train on the main street of my town on a nice summer evening. She was pulled from the vehicle by bystanders before she could be hurt. The conductor wasn't hurt. The large number of freight train cars that derailed were empty. They all, seemingly miraculously, stopped before they catastrophically damaged any homes or apartments near the tracks. There was a chance for an explosion due to a gas leak, but we were all evacuated and everything was dealt with safely. The passenger train due through the area was fortunately late. So much did go wrong, and the sound of the derailment followed by an evacuation in a complete blackout really made it seem like everything did, but these videos really bring perspective of what DIDN'T go wrong and how fortunate we were.
What a stressful work environment knowing you can be reprimanded for 25 seconds of a delay!! They should of expected something like that to happen with those unreasonable expectations that the rail company put on their employees. Very unfortunate it had to happen the way it did, I hope all the family and friends of those who lost their lives in this tragic event are finding peace. Thanks again fascinating horror for yet another beautifully made video, love what you do!! 😍
To be fair... If the system is neasured in such small time frames, and the workers know so and have the tools for upholding those timeframes, there should be comcequences for being to late. However, being made to do degrading work, or basically detention style work, and be verbally abused fir the duration, is not just to much, its cruel and, id even say, against human rights. Concequences, threat of being let go and training the employe to do better is not just acceptable, but the right thing to do. School child levels of punishment and corporate sanctioned bullying though? No. Absolutely over the line! This is mafia levels of punishment
@@ethribin4188In the Nissan CEO case we discovered In Japan no automatic right to lawyers if ur arrested etc Japan probably most advanced in Asia but yes some backward stuff still present
@@sunsetlights100 Japan's actually pretty un-advanced in a lot of areas, cash is king, actual paperwork is often required, faxes are used... wait, these are GOOD things.
Can you imagine that? The driver was so afraid of disciplinary action that he didn't instinctively apply an emergency brake that would have saved everyone's lives. I can't believe he was just 23 years old, too; a decade younger than I am now. Rest easy to him and all the other passengers who lost their lives.
Wouldn't have saved anyone the train was already entering the curve when he realized his mistake. Though it does show what he was thinking about that even when the train is flying off the tracks he still didn't apply the emergency brake. He was definitely a victim in this situation though.
Could JR West be the first company in history to learn from it's mistakes and then PROACTIVELY implement ways for themselves and others to avoid anything like it happening again!? Bravo 👏
They are japanese. So this was way more likely to happen. While japanese work ethic ignores the pressure their workforce, on all levels, goes through, they are highly dedicated to quality. So something likevthis, where harming the workers nental health so much it clearly ends up being to much, shown by the accident, they Will change their ways. And do so with high quality
@@ethribin4188 "If the Japanese do something wrong, it's inevitable, if they do something right, it's for the wrong reasons" Man, I miss Tepido. That site was awesome.
Well, it wasn't that "proactive" since they didn't do anything about it until AFTER details about their policy went public and they were criticized publicly...
Reminds me of a quote I saw just yesterday "slow down, we're in a hurry". Implying that if you rush you'll cause more delays, as in this case where the driver tried to make up time but overshot the station meaning the delay has been increased because he now has to correct this mistake
Stories like this I find really chilling. A 100 people were on their way to work. Just going about their day. Mistakes were made that were beyond their control and it cost them their lives and there was nothing they could have done about it.
The "Daytime Education" used by this rail company was nothing short of ludicrous and illegal. Add to this the pressure under which train drivers were to keep to train times, this was a disaster waiting to happen
@@GreatBooker Illegal outside Japan for sure! This sort of petty, harsh punishment is extremely common and expected in all sectors of employment in Japan.
@@GreatBooker it would be in England where I'm from. If it's not illegal in Japan then it should be questioned. Everyone is human and if you put them under too much pressure, they are sure to make mistakes and in the worst scenario like this one, cause an accident
Japan's railways aren't always on time... there is a chilling message that appears on the display boards occasionally, it's something like "Delayed due to human incident" and apparently is a euphemism for a 'suicide by train'.
Did you know that in Japan, if you unalive yourself by throwing yourself under a train, your relatives are billed for the cleanup and any resultant delays? I think that would be a sufficient deterrent to make me choose a different method. I understand that there is a forest outside of Tokyo that many use for the purpose.
@@rich_edwards79 That's an absolutely horrible policy. Why should anyone pay for the decision of another? That would never fly in any other civilized country. Additionally, if I'm going to kill myself, why would I care about ANYTHING in the aftermath? Utterly insane concept. And, judging from Japan's suicide rates, completely ineffective.
@@rich_edwards79 In Finland we do it with pills and alcohol or shotgun to mouth or other private way to do it. Government pays cleanup. I guess in Finland we have some standards for suicide. Public suicide are rare here. We have very high suicide rate for happiest country.
@@MrSabuskaChannel Someone where I live did it by piercing herself through the heart with some sort of sharp object a few years ago. Although really tragic I was and still am morbidly curious as to how she managed to pull that off
@@MrSabuskaChannel In the happiest country, those who don't feel happy may feel social pressure to maintain the "happiest country" reputation. They may feel that they can't admit they are struggling. This would make them feel even more alone and hopeless. Then would come the feeling that there's only one way out of the pain.
Surprised they didn't order the driver to commit seppuku. Ludicrous punishments towards these drivers for seconds, minutes delays. Better late than dead, my father used to say (he was an ambulance officer) or if he saw someone speeding on the road he'd say they were "rushing to a funeral".
@@Paul_Colton_Let's not forget that this whole chain of event started with a delay measured in seconds. In theory I think it sounds great to be able to rely on public transport functioning with such reliability, but clearly it's not good if it's too strict.
@@Paul_Colton_ It went far beyond acceptable discipline, especially if you consider that the job's standards demanded perfection despite factors he had no control over.
It’s really cool to see you doing videos on tragedies that occurred in countries that aren’t just N. America and Europe. Would love to see more as long as language barriers aren’t an issue
You could pretty much say that about every industry in every country, regardless of local culture. Safety rules are usually made after someone dies on the job.
Something I always go by when I find myself late somewhere is its best to be 10 minutes late in this world than 50 years too early in the next. When you rush you make mistakes.
Holy shit, this is an amazing quote. I want it on poster or something so I can read it every day. "50 years too early" also puts it into perspective how young the poor driver was. I'm the same age now and I can't even imagine having that level of pressure and responsibility on me. The super strict work culture in Japan is likely why a lot of Japanese young people have gone hikikomori. 😢
I was in Tokyo a few years ago and our train had been delayed by a few minutes. They publicly apologised over the loudspeaker and explained the delay. I live in Australia, where trains will run 15+ minutes late, with absolutely no details whatsoever
In 2016 I lived and worked in Toyama for a time. Took the train to and from the factory every day. That was over 6 years ago, but this video is still giving me chills. To think what could have happened. And, BTW, LOTS of japanese school children took that train every day as well. If the train on that line ever derailed it would be an even worse tragedy because many victims would be children. Gives me pause just to think of it.
What a horrible situation a lot of us could have found ourselves in under that pressure. Learning from mistakes and correcting them is the only way to move forward.... thanks for the video
Japanese culture always scared me. Every time it gets praised for efficiency and politeness i remind how alienating and punishing it can be. When taking sick days or leave days is seen as weakness and outright lack of commitment how can you trust the workers with lives as their responsibility? They have so many suicides and mental health issues...
@@tumslucks9781 Sure but Americans have a much wider range of mental issues and easy access to guns. I'd like to know the % of gun suicide over the others tho
@@PenderTheTyrant America and Japan both have culture problems. In Japan, people are expected to give up their individuality and conform to a rigid, homogeneous system. In America, gun culture is rife with racism and toxic masculinity that basically tells men that they aren’t worth anything if they aren’t willing to take another person’s life. You know what both have in common? Mental health is not taken seriously enough in either country.
FH, we really appreciate your reviews….the depth of your research, the logical presentation of facts related to the incident (without sarcasm or self-promotion), and resulting actions, are noted in each of your reports. Thank you.
There's a reason a lot of Japanese companies will have a position unofficially called "Loud American." Japanese corporate culture makes it extremely difficult for ppl to speak up and criticize their superiors/managers or bring up problems. So a lot of Japanese corporations have taken to hiring foreigners to provide that necessary feedback because a large part of that reluctance is kinda built into Japanese culture. And it's called "Loud American" because Americans are famous for speaking our minds and not caring if the other person wants to hear what we have to say. I don't know how effective that necessarily is and ofc the ppl filling those roles aren't all Americans either (and their job title is typically something less... offensive? Well, I don't find it offensive, but it would probably be seen as offensive by some ppl). But it is a good reminder that surrounding yourself with "yes men" who will never contradict you is never a good idea. We all need a "loud American" in our lives. lol
I travel along this route every day. The g-forces from bend before Amagasaki station are very noticeable even travelling at normal speeds. I dread to think what it was like for those onboard that day.
It is insane just how serious business the japanese are with everything. I remember reading that a renowed ice cream company made a new commercial with the company's executives apologizing to their patrons because they were raising the price of it _for 10 cents._ Very disturbing places like Aokigahara are the result of an almost cruel culture of exigency and shame, to the point people are prone to off themselves to things the average american would pay no mind. There are many positive things to be said about Japan, but their strict and gloomy social hierarchy _is not one of them._
I agree to a certain extent. However, Japanese culture has also created an atmosphere of responsibility which I believe is sorely missing from American business culture. American businesses tend to make it a habit to never apologize or admit fault for anything, lest they be held financially responsible. (And even when they are finally forced to apologize, it almost never seems sincere) I mean just look at the other disasters featured on this channel and see how many companies go out of there way to shirk responsibility. At least this company went out of it's way to do the right thing, albeit after the fact. As for that "10 cents" apology, I don't know about you but I would love it if gas companies executives would apologize for raising fuel prices by 1-2 dollars. At least it would show that they care!
@@CrimsonID4 Agreed. If anything, this channel has shown that, unlike our modern intuition might believe, it has actually been English/British companies the ones with the most egregious examples of corporate irresponsibility and responsibility evasion (which would make sense given they were one of the earliest if not the first of the post-industrial revolution economic superpowers, bringing forth a todal wave of new business models and forcing a cultural change in how to perceive and adjunct responsibility in the face of disaster). That being said, one has to understand that "honor" carry very polarized meanings between the western hemisphere and the Asian continent. While in the west it is regarded as a mostly _individual affair_ (a dishonorable individual is despised and judged individually), honor in many asian cultures (more notably the japanese and older generations chinese), _is a familiar affair._ Someone being regarded as dishonorable is not only despised by their individual selves, but as their entire family and even ancestors and descendants as well. Their kids and parents would be treated poorly and forced to apologize and atone for deeds they even might have not been previously aware their relatives did. To be shamed and having one's entire family name being dragged to the mud _would be a thousands times more hurtful than a painful death itself._ Hell, the japanese Tokugawa shogunate were so bent on that concept, they are the ones responsible for implementing the custom of japanese subjects regarding themselves and others by their _surname/family name first_ and personal name last. It is so pervasive the whole "-san" and other variations of name appendices customs came from the very intense shame and anger that having anyone not regard their individual (or worst, family) name would elicit from anyone; a bit similar to latinos and italians showing respect to elder or very well-esteemed members of society by the "señor/señora" or even higher "Don/Doña" name prefixes, for males and females respectively. So the concept of shame and apologizing is far more painful for the Japanese than for Americans, and more indiscriminately employed. While an American might apologize from a sense of self-shame and personal responsibility, and a desire to fix wrongs and move forward, Japanese not only do so due to that, but also a sense of intense duty to their family and everyone related to them, and a desire to not only fix a wrong, but to regain the upstanding they had in society that was taken from them. And naturally, some unscrupulous members of society that enjoy a "higher" standing might abuse such concepts and not even feel guilty or bad about it, perhaps even feeling a "duty" to do so as it was done (and now expected from) to them. So while I definitely agree the west could do very well to adhere to "ancient" yet noble concepts like honorable behavior, _I think taking it to the self-destructive levels of the japanese culture is not going to help anyone._ Japanese are even afraid to stand up and excel by themselves despite having a very formidable crop of talented individuals, _and that is sadly due to that social neurosis_ that has been fortunately relaxing since several past decades.
@@glidershower You make excellent points (including stuff I didn't originally know), well done! You're definitely right about British/English industrial irresponsibility historically being even more worse than with modern American companies (Bhopal immediately comes to mind). I also definitely agree *_completely_* emulating Japanese culture to self-destructive levels is not the way. That said, I still stand by my "executives apologizing for fuel price increases" remark. 😁
@@CrimsonID4 That's a very good point to stand on. Anything companies can do to tell customers it "isn't their fault" instead of the also very valid "Hey, shit happens, mon."!
As a history student, I have to add that the extremely harsh discipline enforcement and low opportunities for feedback when it comes to the decisions coming from "above" was a frequent source of problems for Japan since its early history. Im not against harsh treatment of criminals, but when you create such an intolerant culture towards anyone who doesnt behave like a robot, you are only creating a new problem.
Hi fascinating horror! Thank you for the upload! Since train seems to be a popular theme as of recent, May I once again suggest the sulfur springs Missouri train accident, the deadliest train wreck in Missouri History? I really think it's right up your alley not to mention it's horrific and fascinating and historical. 😉 Regardless, once again thank you for the upload! It's much appreciated!
I was curious about this one as I have a small personal connection. Ex-girlfriend's cousin was one of the unfortunate victims. She was in her twenties from what I remember I was told. It's an interesting one because it's so rare. Accidents here are usually track encroachments by vehicles or rather sadly suicidal people.
This reminds me of the Metro-North crash that happened in Spuyten Duyvil, New York in 2013. In that case, the driver had undiagnosed sleep apnea which caused him to zone out. He was going almost three times the posted speed limit.
I remember that very well. Sputyen Duyvil is within New York City limits. The automatic speed enforcement failed to slow down the train (positive train control). Both the MTA and the USDOT were faulted for not testing for sleep apnea or requiring its testing.
@@AEMoreira81 IIRC, there was a similar accident in NJ not too long after that. As with the NY accident, the driver had sleep apnea. It was then that I began to wonder if that was just an excuse being used any time someone crashed a train.
I spent 9 days in Japan in 2021, and I gotta say that what I loved about their subway system is that if there's a train arriving in a platform, there's usually another train "waiting" in case if the latter train's passengers want to switch lines. However in Korea, if you don't run you can't catch the other train. Now I understand why this happens in Japan. Thanks for the great video!
Thank youuuu for teaching me about this, out of all the youtubers I enjoy I think I trust you the most to be thorough, factual, and respectful every time
Finally! It’s Tuesday again. The tiny segment of my life that has structure. I wake up on Tuesday mornings (it’s 5:50am here in Georgia, US) and I feed my two Chihuahuas, fix my coffee and get right back in the bed to share in this very important fact bringers thoughts and words. I look forward to every Tuesday. Thank you, so much. We need another channel as well. ❤
I wonder how many 'near misses' occurred prior to this accident, in which drivers were desperately trying to reclaim seconds lost due to minor incidents. Another major train tragedy was the Granville rail disaster, Sydney 1977.
This is a key thing. We always hear about procedures only being changed in a reactionary way once a disaster happens, but there's ALWAYS a long history of near misses that the lesson could have been learned from much earlier and measures proactively put in place. No one high up wants to allocate the time or money to do it until forced though.
I'd say if they had done periodic audits of their train safety data recordings they might have identified outlying peaks in high speed, that someone with a little gumption might have followed up on. But that being said, given their company culture at the time they probably would have accepted the behaviour if it meant keeping ti schedule
I really hope you do the Vajont Dam Mega Tsunami at some point. They tried to manually control the speed at which the landslide entered the lake before it all went horribly wrong. Very interesting
Could you do a video on the worst roadaccident in Finland's history? It's called the Konginkangas roadaccident. I think it would fit the theme of the channel and I find it interesting for the fact that I was born the exact day of the accident (in Finland, of course).
It'd be really cute if after listing the deaths or in the video description , Fascinating Horror mentions "Even on the worst days when horrible tragedies occur, we must remember some good things still occur. In this case, included is the birth of one of the viewers who goes by the name or potential alias of 'Hunter.'" Although, I dont know that's it's entirely appropriate.
Years and years ago when I delivered pizza for Domino's they still had the "delivery in 30 minutes or less or you get $3 off" policy. I drove like a madman trying to get those pizzas to people within the 30 minutes. It wasn't safe at all...lol.
I really sounds like JR West learned from the consequences of that harsh punitive culture. But you're certainly correct in that there are many, many other places where such punitive cultures are either being adopted or exist with longstanding. Such a great lesson about the consequences of treating your workers such harshness causes many unintended negative consequences and often doesn't accomplish the positive goals you set out. Great summary.
Very tragic that 90 seconds behind schedule caused the driver such anxiety and worry that he drove recklessly and asked his coworker to not report it. 107 dead and hundreds of others injured over a delay. Making safety less important than being on time is shameful. I'm glad the railway company admitted their harsh treatment of workers was wrong and have changed it. And I'm glad those 60+ workers who had been punished and humiliated received some compensation. That memorial looks beautiful.
I think I saw this on Seconds from Disaster but it's nice to see it being told here. It's a shame Japan has such a rigid and sometimes, from an outsider's view, harsh culture towards their citizens and work though in some ways they seem decades ahead of the States. Their train/subway infrastructure being the first thing that comes to mind compared to Amatrak and our poor excuse of a railway network here.
Can we really blame a 23 year old kid subjected to impossible standards and fears of punishment? No. The culture of the company and corporate excecs need to be blamed. Not a very young adult trying to adhere to these ridiculous standards
Reminds me of that "delivery in 30 minutes or it's free" pizza delivery nonsense way back when. A rushed delivery driver blowing a red light and killing someone was the nail in that coffin! Delays happen, but severely punishing a driver for absolutely minor delays is asking for this kind of thing to happen. At least JR seems to have learned its lesson...
Nothing I enjoy more than your short documentaries while playing games. I have such a short attention span that this works so much better for me than history class
I worked for a company that had a resource to self report if a mishap or accident occurred, I used this to report a mistake I had made and cited the wording between the two manuals caused my mistake. My reason was ignored and I was punished and embarrassed for nearly a year for it. When they asked me later about the incident I said not only was the root cause ignored but I will never use the reporting system again and will infact encourage others to avoid using it.
Couldn't believe it was already 17 years ago. This is by far the worst railway incident in 21st century in Japan. It was so shocking that I am sure all the Japanese adults still remember and will never forget it.
I remember this at the time. It felt insane that people died for such a trivial thing (as seen from outside Japan). At least they learned from their mistakes.
Wow, this day just came flooding back to me. I lived near Ikeda at the time and usually took the rival Hankyu line to go into Osaka. I never felt unsafe in any Japanese train ever but this tragedy just reminded me that things can take a turn for the worse at any time. RIP the victims.
I used to live in Nishinomiya and would pass through Amagasaki on my way to work. While I never used that particular line for work, I often used it to travel north so I recognized that area.
The reliability of Japanese public transportation is truly astonishing, even with the changes made. How sad that leaning on a young employee too hard caused such devastation.
I lived and worked in Japan just before this happened, so had no idea how difficult things were for the drivers. I spoke to an employee of JR and was told that if a person had committed suicide by throwing themselves in front of a train, that person's family would be sent the clean up bill.
About 15 miles from where I live, in East Palestine, Ohio, there was a train derailment this Friday night (02/03/23). It’s been 48 hours and the cars are still in flames. They’re concerned about toxic fumes and explosions, and have issued a mandatory evacuation in the mile radius of the site. Authorities from Ohio, PA and WV are helping out. Once all information becomes available, it would be interesting to see a video done on the situation Update: Today is 02/12/2023. During a press conference 3 days ago, a national reporter was suspiciously arrested. After days of the cars being on fire and an explosion occurring, authorities have deemed it “safe” for people to return to their homes. However, fish, chickens, and now foxes are showing up dead. They have not released any proof of water or air quality, only saying that it is “safe”, which no one in the area believes. One meteorologist just stated that the particle pollution just spiked in my city within the last hour. We are concerned, scared, and demand honest answers.
Imagine stressing your employees to the point where someone makes a series of bad choices leading to multiple fatalities! At least JR owned it though and made necessary adjustments to ensure such a disaster wouldn't reoccur.
Hey man, just wanted to say I love your videos. You're very to the point in the way you tell the stories, but still highlight the human element. No sensationism, no made-up details. I respect that deeply. Thank you and looking forward to watching more of your stuff.
60s is a huge delay. Maybe not anywhere else, but it is in Japan. Normally, you can plan for 5 minut changes going across the country, and you know you will make it. If you have not experienced it, you wouldn't understand.
I was living already in Japan when it happened. The authorities handle it very poorly. The rescue teams couldn’t work as a team. They worked as a group, which is something very different. Most Japanese cannot work as a team. Working as a team means that everyone does a different role, and they complement each other. Working as a group means that everyone is doing the same thing. The footage of the rescue teams trying to remove injured people from the trains and not being capable because they were out of people trying to do the same behind them is infamous. It’s the same here in Japan when they try to clean the streets: They want divide up the neighborhood amongst several people and it’s cleaned a few street but they will be walking as a huge group of 20 to 30 people at around the same neighborhood, and in the end it’s only the ones in the front who are doing the work. It’s really, really disheartening when you see this crap happening over and over again.
The problem in that company is that drivers are very, very heavily punished if they are delayed even 30 seconds or so. They are sent to retraining if they make one mistake, and if we make too many mistakes they are just fired. It’s even worse with the bullet train. Drivers get, in the worst cases, four hours sleep between shifts, and the company traits it asked to shift separated with a long break, not sleep. When we are talking about people who are piloting massive chunks of metal going on at 300 km/h, we should make sure that the drivers are well slept. I know this because I know people who work on one of those strings and they were subjected to the same sleep schedule, or lack thereof.
Excellent job, FH! I once worked for a company in the US who tried the same tactics for 100% production rates. It was a very nerve wracking time in my employment there. It came to an end when several complaints by customers for faulty products started coming in. We made safety devices for firefighters! You can imagine the keffaufal that created. They let up a bit after this!
90 seconds delay in the rest of the world is nothing out of the ordinary, hell in some parts any delay under 5 minutes is welcomed, as the usual delay is far longer...
I assure you this isn't unique to Japan. Workers creating dangerous scenarios to avoid disciplinary measures exists in all countries to some degree. Only after accidents does the public limelight allow the change in culture required to prioritise public safety over corporate culture/profit.
Thanks for posting this FH. What caused the crash? You already said so, the driver was terrified of being late and so put the pedal to the metal and floored it, the excessive speed on the bend then derailed the train.
