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 that would 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, some perhaps trying to calm their nerves at being whisked along at speeds unheard of in rail travel.

This article was amended on 30 September 2024 to correct a reference to the shinkansen’s service area. The train does not, as previously stated, run on the island of Shikoku.