Sixty years ago, early in the morning of October 1, 1964, a sleek blue and white train slid effortlessly across the urban sprawl of Tokyo, its elevated tracks carrying it south toward the city of ...

The shinkansen—Japan’s bullet train that brought high-speed rail to the world in 1963—is as symbolic for the nation as sushi and cherry blossoms. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wants to export it across ...