Tokyo, July 10.
Marking the piercing of the first su'vaarine funnel in, the world, connecting Shimonoseki and. Moji, the last metre of the remaining wal was blasted away this morning when Dr. Gotaro Ogawa, Minister of Railways, pressed a button at 11.01 o'clock this morning from his fore setting off the dynamite imbedded in States the tunnel, The elaborate ceremony, marked by the blasting of the last section, was attended by high officials including Mr, Kenji Kurata, Chief of the Construction Bureau of the Railway Ministry, Dr, Ogawa said to the press that Japan should be proud of this submarine tunnel which has now been completed, connecting the Japanese mainland and Kyushu, and pointed out that completion of such a gigantic construction project was significant in view of the work being carried out in the midst of the present international situation, "Epoch-Making Event"
Dr, Ogawa continued: "This is an epoch-making event in the history of communications and has far-reaching significance on cultural life tin general," 2 The plan to connect Shimonoseki with Moji was first put forth by late Count Shimpei Goto, former Railways Minister, in 1910, The scheme for a submarine tunnel took definite shape when the lst Diet Session in 1918 approved of the construction with an outlay of 18,000,000 yen to be completed in ten years. However. the Sist Diet Session in 1924 reversed the previous decision because reconstruction work was being carried out in Tokyo after the 1923 earthquake, In view of the necessity for a speed-up of traffic with Kyushu, the Diet again approved of the plan in December 1926 with an expenditure of 16,200,000 yen to be completed in four years, The actual work on the tunnel was begun in June, 1937, During the four years of construction work 11 workers lost their lives, Railway tracks will be laid through the tube in April, 1942 and a test run of trains is expected to Being in the following June, Regular passengers train service is scheduled for October 1942, The tunnel will shorten the Shimonoseki-Moji crossing to seven minutes, cutting the time required by more than half, Mr, Iwao Kugimiya, Chief of the Shimonoseki Engineering Office of the Ministry of Railways, supervise ed the whole construction work.—Domei,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.