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Japan plans ‘conveyor belt road’ linking Tokyo and Osaka amid delivery driver shortage | Japan | The Guardian


It is hoped ‘innovative’ 24-hour design will also cut carbon emissions, as demand for delivery services soars

The automated cargo transport corridor, which will connect the capital with Osaka, 320 miles (515km) away, is seen as part of the solution to soaring demand for delivery services in the world’s fourth-biggest economy. A computer-graphic video released by the government last month shows large containers on pallets – each capable of supporting up to a ton of produce – moving three abreast along an “auto flow road” in the middle of a motorway, with vehicles traveling in opposite directions on either side. The shortage of truck drivers, who carry about 90% of Japan’s cargo, is expected to accelerate after the introduction this year of a law limiting their overtime in an attempt to address overwork and reduce the number of accidents.

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