葛西敬之上席顧問委員（JR東海名誉会長、IHRA設立発起人）は、2022年5月25日に逝去されました。 ご逝去に伴いIHRA関係者から寄せられたメッセージをご紹介します。
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“Mr.Kasai was the great figure who always thought about “Railway and Nation”; how to contribute to the growth of a country, society and economy by establishing highly safe and reliable train system, and had tirelessly worked on its realization. I sincerely wish we could have longer continued our activity together for the development of railways in the world.”
Masafumi Shukuri, Chairman IHRA
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“As anyone who had the privilege of meeting Chairman Kasai can attest, he was a remarkable individual whom you would never forget. As a child he forged for plants and insects on Sado Island for his family as they took refuge from American bombing in Tokyo. As he grew up, his father taught him about the Chinese classics. While classes at Tokyo University were suspended due to anti-security treaty riots, he joined the Noh Club rather than protest. While his wife was and is a recognized haiku poet, he preferred to write tanka, which he said was more to do with “something romantic”. While visiting London or New York he enjoyed walking thru Hyde or Central Park and quizzing (or rather teasing) the interpreter about the English and Japanese names of the trees and flowering plants he would encounter, knowing already the answers and the scientific appellation.
Kasai-san believed very strongly about many things, including modernizing Japan in the spirit of the Meiji restoration, the importance of the Japan-U.S. relationship, and importantly for us, the efficacy of the JRC brand of high speed rail. His mind was high speed rail with no compromises: the Tokaido Shinkansen must be the world’s best and safest and most reliable high speed rail; it’s Nagoya station building must be again in the Guinness Book of world records as the largest; and the SCMaglev must become the world’s fastest train in commercial service. He believed in sharing Japan’s rail technology and “know-how” with Taiwan, Southeast Asia, India, Australia and the United States. He loved the UK. When he saw China try to claim the mantel of the world’s number one train country, he pushed back by saying that Japan must share what it has with the rest of the world, and that the Indo-Pacific countries must be given the chance to understand Japan’s “secret sauce” (my words, not his). So, on the eve of the 50th Anniversary of the Tokaido Shinkansen he led the way to the establishment of IHRA, not to sell trains, but to share information and promote opportunity for countries to get to know and love Shinkansen as much as he did.
At IHRA and Central Japan Railway, we honor his legacy by sharing his vision and love for high speed rail, and together with our sister and brother railroads, who in common cause have joined with IHRA, we look positively to the future.”
Torkel Patterson, Vice-Chairman IHRA
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“I personally found him to be such a warm, lovable & compassionate person. At our IHRA meetings, I was always delighted listening to him speaking with his deep understanding & knowledge on all subject matters. I will miss his company and wisdom.”
Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar, Former Chairman, Land Transport Commission, Malaysia (IHRA Senior Advisory Board Member)
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“During the THSR construction stage, you helped us greatly with system testing, shared
with us about the operation and maintenance experiences of Japan Shinkansen, and
assisted us with training our personnel. Because of your help, THSR has become the
transportation backbone of Taiwan's western corridor.”
YC Chiang, Chairman, THSRC, Taiwan
(IHRA Senior Advisory Board Member)
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“I recall with gratitude my association with him in the IHRA, which was initiated by him and fortified under his mentorship. The increasing reach and acceptance of the high-speed rail in other parts of the world was in no small measure emanated from his leadership.”
NK Singh, Chairman, 15th Finance Commission, India
(IHRA Former Advisory Board Member)
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“My book on “Railway Reform” the draft one was done and now under the process of editing. It contains 2 chapters about JNR reform and part of chapter 6 is about organization change which much of reference was made to Mr. Kasai’s Life Journey. I wish to inform him about this when we were to meet in Nagoya in October.”
Nakorn Chantasorn, Advisor to President, National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), Thailand (IHRA Technical Advisory Board Member)
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“Chairman Kasai will be remembered greatly by everyone that met him throughout his journey. His legacy will live on for many, many years within JRC and also the international railway community.”
Larry Kelterborn, President, LDK ADVISORY INC, Canada (IHRA Technical Advisory Board Member)
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“It is really sad to hear about the passing away of Kasai san, a legendary personality not only known in Japan but also in the rest of the world. His departure would be a great loss to the society, particularly the railway fraternity.”
Achal Khare, Former Managing Director, NHSRCL (National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited), India (IHRA former Technical Advisory Board Member)
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“Your eloquent description of the extraordinary role and leadership that Kasai san demonstrated in creating Japan’s remarkable railway system and his creation of the International High-Speed Rail Association perfectly recounts his lifetime of inspirational accomplishments. It was a high honor and great privilege for me to know and work with Kasai san over the past decade.”
Tom Daschle, Former Senator and Senate Majority Leader, US
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“I have always appreciated his wisdom and enjoyed discussions about many aspects of Japan, of course, particularly on railways. He will be recognised as one of the great figures in Japan over the last several decades.”
Roderick Smith, Emeritus Professor, Imperial College London, UK
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“What is so impressive to me is his effort for the privatization of railway in Japan and his sincere will for highspeed rail development overseas. We have lost great Kasai-san, but I believe IHRA would keep continuing Kasai’s idea and will on highspeed rail development in years to come.”
Sutanto Soehodho, Professor, University of Indonesia, Indonesia