TOKYO -- The next stages of expansion for Japan's bullet train network face potentially huge cost overruns as prices for materials and labor soar, raising questions about the financial sustainability of the country's railway development model.
An extension of the Hokkaido Shinkansen in northern Japan to the prefectural capital of Sapporo is expected to top the original budget estimate by roughly 40%, or 645 billion yen ($4.88 billion), bringing the total to 2.3 trillion yen, the transport ministry said early this month.
