The Asama (あさま) is a high-speed Shinkansen train service operated by East Japan Railway Company on the Hokuriku Shinkansen in Japan. The shinkansen service was introduced in October 1997, but the name was first used for a semi-express service operated by Japanese National Railways (JNR) in 1961. “Asama" is the name of an active volcano near Karuizawa, on the boundary between Gunma and Nagano Prefecture.

The East Japan Railway Company is a major passenger railway company in Japan, the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as JR Higashi-Nihon in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in Yoyogi, Shibuya, Tokyo, next to Shinjuku Station. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, and is one of three Japan Railways Group constituents of the Nikkei 225 index, the others being JR Central and JR West.