Though customers aren't expected to tip here, Japanese taxis are among the most expensive in the world, and next year rides will probably cost even more since the transportation ministry is considering removing the cap on fares and allowing a 2.86 percent rise to help taxi companies adjust to the consumption tax increase. That would boost the base taxi fare to ¥730 in Tokyo.
Before you start complaining think about the drivers. In 1995 the average salary of a Japanese cabbie was ¥4.03 million. In 2005 it was ¥3 million. And since the recession started in 2008 salaries have hovered between ¥2 and ¥3 million. There are various reasons for this loss of income, the main one being deregulation.
In 2002, the administration of privatizing Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi allowed taxi companies to increase their vehicle pools. Between 2001 and 2007, the number of taxis nationwide increased by 15,000, driving up competition and driving down the amount of revenue per cab. In 2009, the government re-regulated the industry in an attempt to cut the number of cabs in 156 cities where it was deemed there were too many. Since then salaries haven't gone down but they haven't gone up either. Now taxi drivers and taxi companies are afraid because one of the pillars of "Abenomics" is, again, deregulation.