Abe push for maglev system due to China factor

Tokyo

COMPETITION in high-speed transportation systems is hotting up in Asia as Japan prepares to accelerate development of its magnetic levitation (maglev) system - an area where China has already launched the world's first commercially operating maglev service in Shanghai.

Critics of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's decision announced last week to direct public funds to a proposed maglev service linking Tokyo with Osaka claim there is more political than economic sense in the move.