As part of our ongoing work to get rid of the herbicide glyphosate (active ingredient in Roundup and several other herbicides) the No! GMO Campaign wrote to all major railway companies in Japan early in 2020. Many people are concerned about the spraying of this cancer-causing chemical to kill weeds along train tracks. And several railway companies have revealed in their environmental reports or sustainability reports that they are trying to reduce the use of herbicides. Unfortunately, none of the railway companies replied to our letter and did not answer our questions. As part of our campaign, we also asked the railway companies, including JR, Odakyu Line, Keio Line, Seibu Line and others to completely stop using glyphosate.
When we wrote to them a second time this spring, only a few companies replied:
JR East Japan: We do not reveal the names of individual herbicides that we use
JR West Japan: We are using glyphosate
JR Kyushu: We are using glyphosate
JR Shikoku: No reply regarding glyphosate
JR Tokai: No reply regarding glyphosate
Kintetsu Railway: We do not use glyphosate
Read the replies on the No! GMO Campaign website (Japanese)
(Photo: Kintetsu Railway “Shimakaze” train)