My name is Kenichi Rinoie, and I have been appointed Chairperson of the Japan Transport Safety Board (JTSB).
　　The JTSB is tasked with aircraft, railway and marine accident and incident investigations, and based on the results of these investigations, making recommendations necessary to prevent accidents and mitigate damage. The JTSB is an important organization that ensures the safety of Japan's transportation from a fair and neutral standpoint. As chairperson of the JTSB, I feel the significant weight of its high expectations and the importance of my responsibility.

　　The mission of the JTSB is to “contribute to preventing the occurrence of accidents and mitigating the damage caused by them, thus improving transport safety while raising public awareness, and thereby protecting the people’s lives by accomplishing appropriate accident investigations that thoroughly unveil the causes of accidents and damages incidental to them, and urging the implementation of necessary policies and measures through the issuance of safety recommendations and opinions or the provision of factual information.” Under this mission, the JTSB has been promoting various initiatives.

　　For example, as digitization progresses in a variety of fields, we analyze events and data left behind on the involved facility where accidents have occurred, including aircraft, vehicles, and vessels. We promote scientific and objective investigations by introducing new equipment such as drones and 3D scanners to accurately assess the situation at the accident site, etc., in an effort to accurately determine the cause of the accident from a fair and neutral standpoint.

　　In addition to each accident investigation report, the JTSB analyzes the accumulated investigation results on specific themes and publishes the “Japan Transport Safety Board Digest” and “Analysis Digest Local Office Edition” to introduce trends in accidents and common preventive measures, with specific examples, for use in safety awareness activities and other information dissemination.

　　Furthermore, looking at international efforts, accident investigation authorities are collaborating and cooperating at the practical level in individual accident investigations, as well as exchanging views and opinions at the top level and among experts in various fields.
　　In the aviation and maritime fields, these efforts are being promoted under the framework of international organizations. In the railway field, the Railway Accident Investigation International Forum (RAIIF), the world's first international platform for railway accident investigation authorities, was established in October 2024 at the suggestion of the JTSB, and its first meeting was held in Tokyo.

　　We would like to continue our efforts to further strengthen international cooperation and improve safety.

　　Based on these achievements, and with a view to responding to foreseen accidents caused by new technologies such as advanced air mobility and automated system, the board members and staff will work together to further promote initiatives based on the mission of the JTSB. Furthermore, we will strive to continue to make a thorough contribution to the safety of transportation through investigations into the causes of accidents and recommendations to prevent their recurrence.