Waymo has partnered with Japanese allies to prepare driverless taxi services in Tokyo, targeting full commercial launch in 2027. The service will begin with small vehicles before expanding to around 100 cars in major city districts.
Tokyo is set to enter the era of driverless taxis as Waymo, an autonomous vehicle technology company under Alphabet, joins forces with GO, a Japanese taxi app provider, and Nihon Kotsu taxi company. They have announced plans to launch commercial driverless taxi services in Tokyo by 2027.
The three companies said they will start with a small fleet and gradually expand to about 100 vehicles covering key Tokyo neighborhoods. This depends on approvals from relevant authorities and successful testing and validation of Waymo's technology and operating system. Once approved and verified, the service will operate without drivers behind the wheel, and passengers can hail rides via both the GO and Waymo apps.
Tekedra Mawakana, co-CEO of Waymo, said from day one, the taxis will provide fully driverless service to the public, with the company gradually increasing the fleet size appropriately until Tokyo residents can download the app and summon rides independently.
This announcement marks a significant step for Waymo's expansion into Japan, following the company's data collection on Tokyo roads since 2025 using Jaguar I-PACE vehicles with drivers. This was Waymo's first deployment of its technology on public roads outside the United States.
The company stated that driverless taxi services could help ease Japan's shortage of drivers amid the country's declining population and transportation labor demands.
Meanwhile, Nissan, a major Japanese automaker, is also developing driverless taxi technology in collaboration with British startup Wayve and Uber Technologies, aiming to offer such services in the near future.
: Sourcechannelnewsasia
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