Without the decisiveness of Sogo, left, the dream of building the superexpress train might have been derailed once again. Sogo assumed the JNR presidency in 1955, when the state-run company had lost public trust due to a series of accidents. He showed great ambition on his first day as president, saying, "I'm ready to die, using a railroad as my pillow."
At a time when automobiles were becoming more integral to society, many people viewed railways as old-fashioned. Even some JNR officials had negative opinions about the bullet train project. Sogo constantly lobbied the government despite such opposition, stressing the importance of expanding the capacity of the Tokaido Line.
In 1958, the Transport Ministry officially decided to build the Shinkansen, which would make it possible to travel between Tokyo and Osaka in about three hours. It was a rush construction project aimed at offering service just six years later, in time for the opening of the Tokyo Olympics. The project was initially estimated to cost ¥194.8 billion.
The total cost eventually doubled. Internally, JNR had calculated the amount at more than ¥300 billion, but Sogo falsified the figure, thinking that the Diet would not approve such a costly project.
JNR made up the difference by asking the World Bank for a loan of $80 million. Sogo apparently calculated that the World Bank loan would give the Shinkansen project the status of an international commitment, and the government would find itself obliged to complete it at any price.
During an interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun in later years, Sogo said: "When I signed the [loan] agreement, I thought, ‘The Shinkansen project is as good as done.'"
However, the project was not to be completed during Sogo's tenure as JNR president. Amid increasing criticism of JNR, particularly after a collision at Mikawashima Station on the Joban Line in Tokyo killed 160 people, he stepped down when his term expired in May 1963, just a year and a half before the start of bullet train service.
Sources: Feb. 11, 2012, Yomiuri Shimbun morning edition, July 19, 1964, Yomiuri Shimbun morning edition, and May 21, 1955, Yomiuri Shimbun evening edition