Japan taxi-hailing application operator GO, Waymo and Nihon Kotsu are moving to commercialise autonomous taxis in Tokyo.

IT media reported on Sept. 15 that the three companies said on the day they had agreed to a strategic partnership to commercialise autonomous taxis in the Tokyo metropolitan area.

The key goal is to operate Japan’s first Level 4 fully driverless commercial taxi service in 2027. The companies plan to start with a small fleet and then gradually expand to about 100 autonomous taxis that can be hailed through the GO dispatch app and the Waymo app.

The date for full service has not been confirmed. The three companies will decide a specific launch date after safety is verified and required permits are obtained under the Road Traffic Act and the Road Transport Act. They set a commercialisation target while prioritising meeting the conditions for actual operation.

Roles are also clearly defined. GO will serve as the channel for cooperation with local taxi operators and act as the hub for coordination, and it will handle the overall design for applying Waymo’s autonomous driving technology to Japan’s taxi industry. Waymo will provide the operating platform, vehicle management system and expertise to support business expansion. Nihon Kotsu, Tokyo’s largest taxi operator, will handle on-site operations management and depot operations.

The service model has also been detailed. Users will be able to hail autonomous taxis through the GO and Waymo apps. Rather than deploying a large number of vehicles from the outset, the companies plan to start small and then scale up in stages to about 100 vehicles. It is a way to reduce risks that could arise during commercialisation while proceeding with on-site operations and technology deployment together.

The three companies are already conducting road trials. They have continued test driving on public roads in seven wards of Tokyo since 2025, and in the process worked to adapt Waymo’s autonomous driving technology to Tokyo’s road environment. They are currently conducting autonomous driving tests with Nihon Kotsu crew members riding along.

The focus of this cooperation goes beyond a simple technology experiment to building an actual commercial operating system. GO will handle links with local taxi operators, and Nihon Kotsu will oversee on-site operations management and depot operations. Waymo will provide the vehicle operating platform, management systems and specialised capabilities to support expansion of the cooperation business in Japan.

Two points will be closely watched going forward. One is how much the companies can prove the safety of autonomous driving technology in Tokyo’s complex road environment. The other is when they can complete the required licensing process and connect it to an actual service schedule. Since the three companies set the official launch date for after safety verification and permit completion, test results and regulatory procedures are expected to determine the pace of commercialisation.

The project is a full-fledged example of Waymo building a commercialisation model in the Japanese market by working with local taxi operators and a dispatch platform operator. With autonomous driving technology, the dispatch platform and on-site operations management being 추진ed according to each company’s role, trials and preparations for commercialisation in Tokyo are expected to become an important benchmark for introducing driverless taxis in Japan.