Series 100 bullet train to be withdrawn from Tokaido Shinkansen services

• Series 100 to be withdrawn from Tokaido Shinkansen (in Japanese), Asahi.com 14/8/03.
  (http://www.asahi.com/national/update/0814/003.html)

It seems to me only a while since Series 0 was withdrawn from Tokaido Shinkansen, but now the second generation Series 100 bullet train fleet is to be withdrawn. This article on Asahi.com suggests that Mr Masataka Kimata, currently with JR Central, headed the development team for Series 100, which made a debut in 1985, in the last days of Japanese National Railways prior to privatisation. Many of the interior features were inherited into the newer trains such as Series 300, which means Series 100 set the "standard" of the new Shinkansen services (although the double-deckers with dining cars and compartments will be abandoned).

A sad thing is that Series 300 and Series 700, which now dominates Tokaido Shinkansen, are not capable of 300km/h. The development of the next generation fleet, called "Series N700", has already been anounced, but should we wait until the new fleet is complete and replaces Series 300?