Japan's magic bullet: 60 years of the train that helped rebuild the idea of a country

Over just a few days in 1964, the launch of the shinkansen and the Tokyo Olympics trumpeted the emergence of a new economic and democratic power At 6am on 1 October 1964, two trains set off in opposite directions in a ­daring ­experiment thatwould quickly turn them into ­symbols of Japan's ­transformation from ­militarist pariah to global ­economic powerhouse. Black-and-white footage shows smartly dressed men, women and children marvelling at the countryside whizzing past their windows, so...