Tag - driving

 
 

DRIVING

In 2019, Japan tightened penalties for the use of smartphones and other mobile handsets while driving.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 7, 2024
Record high number of distracted drivers causing death or serious injury
In 2023, 25 incidents were fatal and 97 caused serious injury, with about 10% of drivers using mobile phones to talk and 90% looking at screens.
An unmanned robot navigates across a street during a demonstration of Uber Eats' robot delivery service in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 6, 2024
Uber Eats Japan begins deliveries with self-driving robots
The company has rolled out the service in Tokyo's Nihonbashi area and plans to introduce it in other places as well.
Police stations in Tokyo's Minato Ward hold a cycling safety event in Tokyo in August.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 6, 2024
Japan to introduce 'blue ticket' fine system for cyclists
Fines are expected to be between some ¥5,000 ($33) and ¥12,000, the same as those for traffic violations by motorized scooter riders.
Nissan is planning an autonomous vehicle ride-share service for Japan with a 2027 launch date to address a lack of taxi drivers due to the nation’s aging population.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 28, 2024
Nissan plans 2027 driverless ride-share service for aging Japan
Nissan will trial the service in Yokohama's Minato Mirai area, with 20 vehicles equipped with a safety monitor in each driver’s seat.
ANA said the cheating involving 78 of its drivers took place between August 2022 and February 2024 while JAL said 11 drivers of its drivers cheated on tests conducted between May 2022 and January 2024.
JAPAN
Feb 21, 2024
Japanese airlines say baggage car drivers cheated on written exam
ANA Holdings and Japan Airlines said their subsidiaries allowed workers at Haneda Airport to cheat on the test to obtain driving licenses.
Monet Technologies' robotaxi service, partly designed to address serious shortages of taxi drivers, will use vehicles based on Toyota's Sienna minivan.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 11, 2024
Toyota affiliate to start Robotaxi service in Tokyo
The new robotaxi service, partly designed to address serious shortages of taxi drivers, will use vehicles based on Toyota's Sienna minivan.
Facing severe shortages of drivers, Japan will offer tests for driver's licenses for taxis and buses in foreign languages to attract more foreign nationals to the sector.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 11, 2024
Japan taxi and bus driver's license tests to go multilingual
The National Police Agency will issue sample exam questions nationwide in 20 languages by the end of March.
Snow falls over the Shibuya scramble crossing in Tokyo on Monday evening.
JAPAN
Feb 6, 2024
Heavy snow in Tokyo area impacts morning commute, injures 120
Some train lines in the Tokyo area were suspended as of Tuesday morning, with many others facing delays.
Snow falls outside Sensoji Temple in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN
Feb 5, 2024
Heavy snow falls in Tokyo and wider region, impacting transport networks
While the snowfall may peak overnight, those commuting on Tuesday morning are likely to encounter icy roads and impacts on trains or roadways.
Honda's four-seater CiKoMa EV can travel at speeds of up to 20 kph.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 1, 2024
Honda to test automated EV and logistic robot in Ibaraki Prefecture
The four-seater EV, named CiKoMa, can travel at speeds of up to 20 kph.
The Yas Marina Circuit, home to Formula One's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, will be the scene of a different sort of race in April when driverless race cars take to the track.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Dec 21, 2023
Driverless race cars on track for April debut in Abu Dhabi
The driverless Dallara Super Formula SF23 open-wheel cars have a computer in place of the cockpit and no need for a steering wheel or seat.
Tourists get into an Uber car in San Francisco. Japan plans to allow drivers with a standard license to offer taxi services using their own vehicle amid a shortage of taxi drivers.
BUSINESS
Dec 8, 2023
Japan to allow use of private cars as taxis under certain terms
People without a license to provide driver services will be able to do so as long as they undergo prior training and are directly employed by taxi firms.
Self-driving vehicles featuring Level 4 capabilities, which means they can handle all driving tasks, in Eiheiji, Fukui Prefecture, in August
JAPAN / Society
Nov 23, 2023
Japan to start discussions on driverless transportation next month
The services are expected to be utilized in areas where declining populations and driver shortages are becoming a serious problem.
Kyle Vogt speaks on stage at the launch of the Cruise Origin autonomous vehicle in San Francisco in January 2020.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 20, 2023
CEO of GM's Cruise robo taxi unit resigns amid U.S. safety review
His resignation follows weeks of turmoil at the unit, which is undergoing a safety review after one of its vehicles dragged a pedestrian.
A Level 4 self-driving vehicle in the town of Eiheiji, Fukui Prefecture
JAPAN / Society
Nov 12, 2023
Fukui Prefecture records nation's first Level 4 accident
In the accident in the town on Oct. 29, the autonomous vehicle, traveling at about 4 kilometers per hour, hit a parked bicycle.
NTT plans to test driverless vehicle technology with Toyota and invest in a U.S. startup.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 7, 2023
NTT to test driverless tech with Toyota and invest in U.S. startup
NTT aims to start tests with autonomous buses and taxis as early as 2025 and invest about ¥10 billion ($66.91 million) in U.S. startup May Mobility.
Blair Masters and Talisker Scott Hunter pose for a photo with their kei truck, nicknamed “KT,” outside Ebisu Circuit in Fukushima Prefecture.
LIFE / Travel / Longform
Nov 6, 2023
The little truck that could: A fresh way to tour Japan's north
Travelers have documented almost every corner of Japan. Perhaps a new kind of adventure would be doing those same journeys by different means.
Suzuki President and Representative Director Toshihiro Suzuki unveils the Suzu-Ride at a press day of the Japan Mobility Show at Tokyo Big Sight in Tokyo on Oct. 25.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 1, 2023
New mobility concepts cater to older people's love for the road
The four-wheeled vehicles categorized as "specified small motorized bicycles" can be driven on public roads by anyone 16 or over without a license.
A Cruise driverless car operating in San Francisco. On Tuesday, California regulators ordered Cruise, a General Motors subsidiary, to stop its driverless taxi service in San Francisco after a series of traffic incidents.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 25, 2023
California sidelines Cruise's driverless cars, citing safety risk
The U.S. state suspended Cruise's autonomous vehicle deployment, saying the company had "misrepresented" the safety of the technology.
AI software is being used to detect cognitive decline in older Japanese drivers in order to help prevent accidents.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 22, 2023
AI startup helps insurers spot cognitive decline in elderly drivers
Once reliant on a driver's age and model of car, some insurers now rely on AI to expedite settlements and craft more precise risk assessments.

Longform

A statue of "Dragon Ball" character Goku stands outside the offices of Bandai Namco in Tokyo. The figure is now as recognizable as such characters as Mickey Mouse and Spider-Man.
Akira Toriyama's gift to the world