Those big concrete pillars in the middle of nowhere

Sometimes Japan has a 'not quite finished yet' look about it. There are always new buildings under-construction in cities and now that it's April, the annual 'Men with Flags' roadshow gets under way (I can't work out if their purpose is to mend roads or make me late). One of the biggest examples is the chain of concrete pillars in Iiyama, Nagano and Myoko, Niigata. Signs on them say that they are for the new Hokuriku Shinkansen line, but I haven't seen any work on them in the last year or so. I've always wondered why, then I read this article today which might explain a little about the slow progress.

"Japan's Privatised Rail Networks" - Daily Yomiuri