Railways as Japanese identity: Riding between confidence and inexperience

Does railway technology represent Japanese national identity? This paper focuses on the narratives indicating as a form of identity representation. Using government pronouncements and interviews given by people involved in supply industry appearing vernaculars, I show that constitutes an integral component contemporary narrative, which has been built up through particular technopolitical regime. These consistently refer to purported safety, reliability, punctuality railways one manifestation high-quality technological skills underpinning construction. However, also reveal inherent irony, whereby confident Self at once reveals countervailing, inexperienced Self, regime realizes its own domestic strength resulted lack international experience compared European, increasingly Chinese, rivals. conclude suggesting follows complex construct involving contradistinction both reproduced opposition European Chinese Other.