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November 23, 2024
 

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TAXIS

Sanwa Koutsu's Kuroko Taxi service has drivers dressed in traditional stagehand garb communicate with passengers only through gestures and written messages.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 9, 2024
The sound of silence: Japan's no-conversation services
“Constant social interaction can feel like torture for us introverts,” one customer says. "I think it’s a pretty smart business move."
A ride-hailing service vehicle in Sendai. In times of disasters, such services will be available more widely.
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2024
Japan to allow use of ride-hailing services in disasters
Demand for transportation tends to increase during disasters such as earthquakes and typhoons, as well as in the recovery and reconstruction process.
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.
Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura is calling for ride-hailing services with no limitations on time zones, locations, dates or the number of vehicles during the Osaka Expo.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Aug 1, 2024
Uncertainty looms over ride-hailing plans for 2025 Osaka Expo
A flood of tourists from Japan and overseas is expected to visit the Osaka Expo, which will open in April next year and run for six months.
Yoshiichi Segawa, a 68-year-old resident of Kawaguchi, where the shooting took place, was apprehended at Omiya Station in the neighboring city of Saitama.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 31, 2024
Saitama police arrest suspect in cab driver shooting
Police identified Yoshiichi Segawa, 68, through security camera footage as the man suspected of shooting the driver in Wednesday's incident.
Transport minister Tetsuo Saito speaks to reporters at the Prime Minister's Office on Thursday after meeting Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
JAPAN
May 31, 2024
Government defers decision on ride-hailing services
Some officials from the transport ministry and Komeito are strongly opposed to fully lifting the current ban.
Digital minister Taro Kono rides in a car driven by a private driver using a personal vehicle in Tokyo's Edogawa Ward on Monday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 8, 2024
Tokyo starts ride-hailing service — but it may not be what you expect
The apps Go, Uber, S.Ride and Didi can all be used to hail private drivers alongside taxis during specific times of the day.
A Tesla Model 3 vehicle drives using FSD (Full Self-Driving) in Encinitas, California, in October.
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Apr 6, 2024
Tesla's bet on robotaxis is a long way from paying off
A greater emphasis on robotaxis comes with more risk for Tesla due to the complexity of the technology involved, analysts said.
Under the revised labor standards law, annual overtime will be capped at 960 hours for truck drivers and 720 hours for construction workers.
JAPAN
Mar 31, 2024
New work-style reform measures kick off in Japan
It is feared the new caps will cause shortages of workers, making it difficult to maintain services.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 approves ¥21.9 trillion stimulus plan
The policy chiefs of the Democratic Party for the People, Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito — Makoto Hamaguchi (left), Itsunori Onodera (center) and Mitsunari Okamoto — shake hands after reaching an agreement on an economic stimulus package on Wednesday.
Tokyo Metro’s overseas efforts begin in earnest with London deal
Tokyo Metro will soon have a role in the running of London's Elizabeth Line, a major train route serving the U.K.’s capital city and environs.
Saitama court bans demonstrations over anti-Kurd hate speech
Kurdish people in Japan in 2015. A court injunction has banned acts that defame the Japan Kurdish Cultural Association and are disrespectful, such as putting up banner flags or handing out fliers with hate speech like “Refugees should go back to their home countries.”
China reinstates visa-free travel for Japanese nationals
Beijing Daxing International Airport
U.S. aircraft carrier returns to Japan carrying navy’s ‘most capable fighter’
U.S. 7th Fleet Commander Vice Adm. Fred Kacher speaks to reporters shortly after the arrival of aircraft carrier USS George Washington at Yokosuka naval base in Kanagawa Prefecture on Friday.
Shohei Ohtani wins National League MVP award
Shohei Ohtani celebrates after hitting a three-run home run against the Padres during the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles last month.
The slow-burn success of ‘A Samurai in Time’
A 19th-century warrior gets struck by lightning and wakes to find himself in 21st-century Kyoto in Junichi Yasuda’s surprise hit “A Samurai in Time.”
Around a quarter of Japan married couples in their 20s met through dating apps
A survey released by an organization promoting “Good Couples Day” shows that 24% of couples in their 20s met their marriage partner through a dating app.
'Tokyo Swindlers': Get deep into the minds of real estate con artists
In Ko Shinjo's "Tokyo Swindlers," a group of con artists manipulates real estate giants into falsified deals within the highly competitive, quick market.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.

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