JR East is considering Peak/Off Peak fare system
JR East has recently indicated during a press conference that they are entertaining an idea of Peak/Off Peak fare system. No detail, likely JR East is entertaining the idea but has not made any specific plan yet.
Peak/Off Peak fare system on commuter trains is used at many places, but not common practice in Japan. Sure there is example of JR East having weekend/holiday discount on commuter train Green Car around Kanto region, Limited Express surcharge fare has Peak/Regular/Off peak fare structure. JR East has indicated that they are considering possible Peak/Off Peak fare structure, which I am assuming JR East is indicating fare affecting base fare and applies to time of the day. No detail yet, JR East may ended up not implementing Peak/Off Peak fare structure at all. No word on how use of JR Rail Pass will be affected if JR East decide to implement Peak/Off Peak fare structure.