Tag - taxis

 
 

TAXIS

The transport ministry intends to partially allow ride-hailing business in some areas of Tokyo, Kyoto, Kanagawa and Aichi prefectures from April amid shortages of taxi drivers.
BUSINESS
Mar 14, 2024
Japan to allow private-driver ride-hailing services in four areas
Currently, ride-hailing apps such as Go and Uber only allow users in Japan to call registered taxis.
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.
To help alleviate labor shortages, positions such as taxi, bus and truck drivers are expected to become eligible for the Specified Skilled Worker No. 1 visa.
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2024
Japan preparing to add transport roles to skilled visa amid shortages
The move would bring the eligible industries under the Specified Skilled Worker No. 1 visa to 16 with railway, forestry and timber sectors under review.
Uber Japan has started discussions with partner taxi companies aiming to introduce ride-sharing services.
BUSINESS
Jan 26, 2024
Uber Japan to launch limited ride-sharing services in April
Uber Japan's new services will only be available in areas and during times of the day deemed to face a shortage of taxis.
Ride-sharing apps (clockwise from bottom) Uber, Grab, Didi and Ola Cabs are seen on a smartphone display.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 20, 2023
Japan to partially lift ban on ride-hailing services from April
Drivers will be allowed to operate in specific areas at certain times under the guidance of taxi companies when there is a lack of rides available.
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.
Tokyo police had a veterinarian perform a postmortem on the hapless pigeon and determined its cause of death as traumatic shock.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 5, 2023
Police arrest Japan taxi driver after running over pigeon
Tokyo police had a veterinarian perform a postmortem on the hapless pigeon and determined its cause of death as traumatic shock.
Cabs not in operation are parked at a taxi company in Naha in October. Finding a taxi in parts of Okinawa Prefecture is becoming increasingly difficult because of a shortage of drivers.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Nov 27, 2023
Getting a taxi in Okinawa harder than ever amid driver shortage
The number of cab drivers working in the prefecture peaked at 10,041 in 2009 and declined to 5,246 in 2021.
Transport ministry officials hand out fliers to arriving international visitors warning against using unlicensed taxis at Narita Airport in Chiba Prefecture in early November.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 18, 2023
Japan cracks down on illegal taxis as tourism boom drives demand
Japanese authorities are stepping up surveillance of unlicensed taxis at Narita Airport near Tokyo, as more tourists seek transport to the capital.
A poster for Uber displayed at a Tokyo subway station reads: "Meeting inbound demand together with Japan's taxis." It also notes that its service is used in 71 countries.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 26, 2023
Japan weighs allowing ride-hailing amid taxi industry opposition
The taxi industry is opposed to any change, arguing that allowing ride-hailing is just a temporary fix that will take jobs from taxi drivers.
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.
The mass production of "flying cars" to provide visitors with air taxi services at the 2025 World Exposition in Osaka is unlikely to be completed in time for the event's opening due to delays in safety certification.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 13, 2023
Due to safety concerns, flying taxis unlikely to soar at 2025 Expo
The vehicles were expected to provide access to the event's venue, set up on the artificial Yumeshima island in Osaka Bay.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 24, 2023
Goldman backs Japan’s biggest taxi app at $1 billion valuation
Goldman began investing in global startups from a dedicated vehicle in 2022, and Go marks its biggest outlay in Japan under that initiative.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 26, 2023
Dynamic pricing aims to accelerate Japan's taxi market
Under the dynamic pricing system, operators will have the option to flexibly set fares between 50% above or below their regular fare according to demand.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 14, 2023
Japan's first piloted flying taxi test held ahead of 2025 Expo
Osaka plans for the "flying cars" to be among the expo"s main attractions, with the vehicles expected to provide access to the event venue.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 31, 2023
A George Jetson world will start with parcels — not people
Before air taxis start taking passengers, the technology will be tested in moving freight before the public accepts their everyday use.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Smart Countryside
Dec 1, 2022
Is it a bus or a taxi? For some small Japanese towns, the answer is both
Hybrid mobility services are helping cater to Japan's older citizens, many of whom live in areas where traditional forms of public transport are lacking.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 30, 2021
Japan to approve taxi ride-sharing from November
Taxi companies are allowed to provide the service on a reservation basis only. Currently, taxi drivers are banned from picking up passengers not traveling together.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 14, 2021
Airlines plan to plow billions into flying taxis
Flying taxis have moved a step closer to becoming a fixture buzzing across the world’s urban skyscapes after startups in the U.K. and Brazil made commercial breakthroughs and a closely watched effort was unveiled in Los Angeles.

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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