JR Tokai and Shizuoka Prefecture sign agreement enabling Maglev construction to start in Shizuoka section

JR Central (JR Tokai) signed an agreement with Shizuoka Prefecture under the prefecture's nature conservation ordinance, satisfying the final requirement to begin construction of the Shizuoka section of the Chuo Shinkansen maglev line. This was the last unstarted section between Tokyo/Shinagawa and Nagoya, and construction could begin within the year, resolving a years-long standoff over water resource protection for the Oi River.