Japanese rail companies, once considered high-speed-rail pioneers, have allowed Chinese rivals to overtake them to win more major contracts in recent years. Suddenly, though, Japan is aiming to gain back lost market share by competing against China on a new, unexpected battlefield: India.
This September in Tokyo, for instance, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe shook hands with his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, on a plan to build a $10.5-billion bullet-train project in India. Plans for the ambitious rail line include two major cities, Mumbai and Ahmedabad, in western India.