East Japan Railway Co. (JR East) plans to introduce QR code train tickets next spring. The Mainichi Shimbun answers some questions readers may have about what that means for passengers.

Question: I heard train tickets will change next year. Is that true?

Answer: Yes. In June, JR East announced it will replace short-distance paper tickets, used for trips within 100 kilometers, with QR code tickets beginning in spring 2027. These are the small tickets commonly purchased from vending machines. Due to the widespread use of IC transportation cards such as Suica, conventional paper tickets now account for only about 2.5% of all ticket usage.

Q: What will the new tickets look like?

A: The current small paper tickets are known as Edmondson tickets and measure 3 centimeters by 5.75 centimeters -- a size almost unchanged since Japan's railway age began about 150 years ago. The new QR tickets will be larger, at 5.75 centimeters by 8.5 centimeters, with a QR code printed near the bottom center. Automatic ticket gates will shift from machines that take in the ticket to readers that simply scan the code. The front of the ticket will retain its familiar orange color, but the back will change from black to white. That's because traditional tickets contained a magnetic layer for ticket gates to read, which is no longer needed for the QR versions.

Q: What are the advantages of the switch?

A: JR East President Yoichi Kise said eliminating the magnetic layer will reduce environmental impact. The previous tickets required special chemical processing, but the new QR tickets can be made with regular paper, cutting recycling and disposal costs. The new tickets are also expected to eliminate gate jams and reduce operating expenses.

Q: Will other railways adopt this system too?

A: Yes. In addition to JR East, Keisei Electric Railway Co., Keikyu Corp., Seibu Railway Co., Tokyo Monorail Co., Tobu Railway Co. and Hokuso-Railway Co. plan to begin switching to QR tickets in sequence from spring 2027. West Japan Railway Co. (JR West) intends to follow from 2028 onward, while Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Central), the Tokyo Metro Co. and Toei Subway are still considering adoption. Other JR companies say they will study the idea in the future.

(Answers by Akihiro Nakajima, Tokyo Business News Department)