Tokyo plans to extend subway network, eyeing return of tourists

After 2030, new routes will improve access to maglev service, sightseeing spots

Two Tokyo subway lines, the Yurakucho Line and the Namboku Line, are to be extended in the network's first expansion since 2008. (Photo by Shotaro Mori)

Nikkei staff writers

December 16, 2021 18:15 JST

TOKYO -- Tokyo's subway network will be extended eastward and southward to improve access to the city's main international gateway, as well as to tourist attractions, Nikkei has learned. Tokyo Metro, operator of the subway, will conduct an environmental assessment over about two years, beginning in the fiscal year that starts next April.

The central government and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government are considering investing more than 230 billion yen ($2 billion) to expand Tokyo's subway system.