Tag - driving

 
 

DRIVING

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.
Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe (left) and Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt shake hands in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 19, 2023
Self-driving taxi service set to be launched in Tokyo in 2026
Honda, GM and the American automaker’s autonomous driving unit, Cruise, will establish a joint venture next year to prepare for the robotaxi service.
Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Tetsuo Saito
JAPAN / Society
Oct 10, 2023
Japan to add driving to specified foreign worker skills
"We'll make various efforts to ensure that local residents and tourists have access to necessary means of transportation," minister Tetsuo Saito said.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (front left) inspects a shipping company in Tokyo's Ota Ward in September.
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2023
Japan to give shopping points to promote outside door delivery
The project is the centerpiece of the government's emergency policy package to address a looming shortage of truck drivers due to tighter overtime caps.
Self-driving vehicles featuring level-4 capabilities in Eiheiji, Fukui Prefecture. The limited availability of autonomous driving in Japan stands in stark contrast to the U.S. and China.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 2, 2023
Autonomous driving remains a distant reality in Japan
The limited availability of autonomous driving stands in stark contrast to the U.S. and China, where robotaxis already roam the streets in some cities.
A self-driving Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicle in San Francisco in 2017
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 17, 2023
With self-driving cars, it's the ethics we have to navigate
Do accidents involving self-driving cars today save lives tomorrow? When it comes to self-driving cars, the challenges aren't just technical, but ethical.
Delivery trucks at a parking area along the highway in Chiba Prefecture in April
JAPAN / Society
Sep 14, 2023
Japan set to expand visa framework to tackle driver shortage
The planned expansion of the visa framework is to attract foreign nationals to the logistics industries and to address the driver shortage problem.
A price board at a gas station in Tokyo shows regular gasoline at ¥186 yen per liter on Aug. 30.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 13, 2023
Japan's pump prices fall for first time in 18 weeks
The decline has come after the national average rewrote a record high for the second consecutive week.
An autonomous truck in Stack AV’s test fleet
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 8, 2023
SoftBank backs autonomous trucking firm started by ex-Ford execs
The new firm, named Stack AV, is led by three executives who previously ran Argo AI, the self-driving operation that Ford and VW shut down last year.
A Cruise autonomous taxi in San Francisco on Aug. 10. Cruise is one of only two firms in California allowed to run paid robotaxi services around the clock.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 25, 2023
Robotaxis are making enemies as they go around San Francisco
Mishaps are adding to traffic and safety concerns over driverless vehicles, which zip around the city’s streets surrounded by sensors and cameras.

Longform

When trying to trace your lineage in Japan, the "koseki" is the most important form of document you'll encounter.
Climbing the branches of a Japanese family tree