Tag - driving

 
 

DRIVING

Starting next March, the My Number card can be used as a driver's license.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2024
Use of My Number card as driver's license to start March 24
The My Number card will function as a driver's license, with its embedded integrated circuit chip to contain new information such as license type.
East Japan Railway plans to run driverless shinkansen by the mid-2030s.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 11, 2024
JR East unveils plans for driverless shinkansen by mid-2030s
The company said it first aims to realize driverless operations for the Joetsu Shinkansen line between Niigata and Tokyo stations.
Uber is working with Royal Limousine and Times Mobility to conduct a trial to allow ordinary drivers to offer ride-hailing services even if they do not own vehicles.
JAPAN
Sep 4, 2024
Uber Japan tests use of car-sharing vehicles for ride-hailing services
The aim of the trial, which will run through Nov. 30, is to make it easier for drivers to get into the business.
Officials of the transport ministry speak to a driver suspected of engaging in illegal taxi operations at a tourist spot in Shirakawa, Gifu Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society / Regional voices: Chubu
Aug 12, 2024
Gifu struggles to crack down on illegal cabs at tourist hot spots
Cashless payments make it hard to catch such drivers in the act and some are worried they may be mistaken for a legal ride-hailing service.
Taxis wait for fares outside the airport in Wuhan, China. Ride-hailing and taxi drivers are among the first workers globally to face the threat of job loss from artificial intelligence, experts say.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Aug 9, 2024
China's drivers worry as robotaxis pick up pace — and passengers
Automating jobs could benefit China in the long run given a shrinking population, economists said.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida rides on a self-driving bus in Taki, Mie Prefecture, on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Aug 1, 2024
Japan to allow driverless cars on 25 public roads by March 2025
Level 4 driverless vehicles will also be seen traveling under specific conditions on some 10 routes after going through a shortened screening process .
Double trailers will be allowed to run on the Hokkaido Expressway for the first time as part of measures to cope with a truck driver shortage.
BUSINESS
Jul 26, 2024
Japan to open up more expressways to double trailers
The move aims to address disruptions in cargo transport services caused by truck driver shortages due to a new overtime regulation introduced in April.
Passenger aircraft operated by All Nippon Airways at Haneda Airport in Tokyo. ANA has developed an autonomous driving vehicle to tow cargo containers.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 17, 2024
Tokyo airport trials driverless cargo vehicle
The trial, the first of its kind at a Japanese airport, is part of government-backed efforts to innovate the air transport industry.
If implemented, the autonomous freight lanes would reduce congestion by up to 35,000 vehicles per day.
BUSINESS
Jul 9, 2024
Transport ministry eyes autonomous lanes to ease freight crisis
The lanes would allow the transportation of small parcels between cities using unmanned carts, and help ease a driver shortage in the logistics sector.
Traffic cones mark the site where a drunken driver plowed into a group of elementary school students two days earlier in Yachimata, Chiba Prefecture, on June 30, 2021.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 28, 2024
Alcoholism seen as factor in increase in drunken driving in Japan
There were approximately 2,300 drunken driving collisions reported last year, marking an increase from the previous year.
Nissan's Leaf electric vehicle, equipped with autonomous driving technology, during a test ride in the Yokohama Minato Mirai area in Yokohama in May
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 21, 2024
Japan focuses on smart cars as automakers fall behind U.S. and China
While driving assistance technology and map navigation features are installed in Japanese cars, they lack more advanced features.
Toshiaki Otake
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 17, 2024
Former secretary to Koichi Hagiuda arrested over drunken driving
Toshiaki Otake is suspected of driving a car from his home in Hachioji to a convenience store in the city while drunk.
A driving course inside a new facility in the city of Saitama created for elderly drivers
JAPAN
Jun 10, 2024
Saitama police open Japan's first elderly driver training center
Drivers 70 and older have to undergo sessions consisting of driving instruction and classroom lectures, as well as cognitive tests.
The Saitama Institute of Technology is aiming to nurture engineers knowledgeable in self-driving vehicles.
JAPAN
Jun 7, 2024
Technology institute to launch Japan's first autonomous driving major
The Saitama Institute of Technology will introduce the major next April, aiming to nurture engineers knowledgeable in self-driving vehicles.
A self-driving vehicle travels along a public road in Eiheiji, Fukui Prefecture, on May 25.
JAPAN
Jun 3, 2024
Self-driving gets off to bumpy start in Fukui town
In the year since the service began in Eiheiji, financial and technical problems have emerged.
Passengers onboard a self-driving vehicle in Eiheiji, Fukui Prefecture, last year
BUSINESS / Economy
May 21, 2024
Japan targets 30% share in next-generation cars
The 30% target was included in a new strategy released by the ministries for software development for next-generation vehicles with advanced digital technologies.
As of last Sunday, ride-hailing services, which use personal vehicles to offer paid rides, had been used a total of 12,628 times in five areas.
BUSINESS
May 11, 2024
In first month of operations, ride-hailing services used more than taxis in Tokyo
The services, which were launched in April, have been used more frequently than traditional taxis so far, a transport ministry report has shown.
The transport ministry will begin talks this summer with expressway operators on details of a system aimed at controlling traffic volumes by flexibly setting highway tolls nationwide, depending on sections and the time of day.
JAPAN
May 11, 2024
Japan to introduce variable expressway tolls nationwide
The government is considering including the plan in its basic economic and fiscal management guidelines to be compiled in June, sources said.
Visitors check a Tesla Model 3 car next to a Model Y displayed at a showroom of the U.S. electric-vehicle maker in Beijing on Feb. 4.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 29, 2024
Tesla clears key regulatory hurdles for self-driving in China
Tesla is said to have reached an agreement with Baidu to use the Chinese tech giant's mapping license for data collection.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk attends a conference in Paris last June.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 28, 2024
Tesla CEO Elon Musk kicks off surprise trip to Beijing
Musk is seeking to meet senior Chinese officials in Beijing to discuss the rollout of Full-Self Driving software in China.

Longform

A woman passes an "akichi" (vacant lot) in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo. The capital is littered with such small lots in part because of Japan's aging and shrinking population.
Dealing with rising land vacancies as Japan shrinks