Waymo, Japanese partners target driverless taxi service in Tokyo in 2027

Alphabet's autonomous driving company Waymo, along with Japanese taxi app operator GO and taxi company Nihon Kotsu, have announced plans to launch Japan's first fully autonomous commercial taxi service in the capital of Tokyo by 2027. Initially, the service will start with a small fleet of vehicles, expanding to approximately 100 vehicles across key neighborhoods in the city.

Once regulatory approvals are granted and the service's technology and operating model have been thoroughly validated, it will operate without any drivers and be accessible through both the GO and Waymo apps.

Waymo's Co-CEO, Tekedra Mawakana, confirmed that this will be an unmanned service from the outset, aiming to offer rides through a user-friendly app download. The company is committed to growing its fleet responsibly over time, gradually operating until the service is available to everyone in Tokyo. This announcement represents another significant step in Waymo's expansion into Japan, following its commencement of data collection using human-driven Jaguar I-PACE vehicles in the city in 2025 – its first public-road operations outside the United States.

The introduction of this service aims to tackle Japan's driver shortage and population decline, potentially providing a solution to these challenges. Interestingly, Japanese automaker Nissan is also engaged in a separate collaboration with British startup Wayve and Uber Technologies, working together on the development of robotaxis.