Waymo’s autonomous vehicles are heading to Tokyo, marking their first deployment on public roads in a foreign market by the Alphabet company.
Waymo is framing this venture as a simple “road trip” to gather data on Japanese driving nuances like left-hand traffic and urban navigation. The vehicles will initially be operated manually to collect mapping data and will be overseen by local taxi fleet operator, Nihon Kotsu. Approximately 25 vehicles will be dispatched, with the first batch arriving in early 2025.
While these tests may pave the way for a potential robotaxi service in Tokyo in the future, Waymo has not confirmed any such plans yet.
Waymo spokesperson Sandy Karp stated, “While we look forward to bringing the life-saving benefits of the Waymo Driver global, we have no plans to serve riders in Tokyo at this time. Our focus is on understanding how Waymo can integrate into the existing transportation landscape and collaborate effectively with local authorities and communities.”
The partnership with GO, a popular taxi app in Japan, suggests Waymo’s potential collaboration with a local mobility provider for its autonomous vehicle service. This mirrors Waymo’s strategy in the US, where their vehicles are accessible through Uber’s ride-hailing app in Austin and Atlanta.
“We have no plans to serve riders in Tokyo at this time”
Waymo’s robotaxi operations in the US are steadily growing, with around 700 vehicles currently active in cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, and Phoenix. They are set to launch in Atlanta in partnership with Uber and plan to expand to Miami in 2026. Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai revealed that Waymo is providing 175,000 paid trips per week, covering about a million miles.
In Tokyo, Waymo’s vehicles will initially be operated by trained autonomous specialists from Nihon Kotsu. As they gain confidence, the vehicles will transition to fully autonomous driving with a safety driver onboard. The vehicles will initially be restricted to specific Tokyo neighborhoods like Minato, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Chiyoda, Chūō, Shinagawa, and Kōtō.
With this move into a foreign market, Alphabet aims to demonstrate confidence in its technology, especially at a time when other companies are scaling back their robotaxi projects due to cost concerns. General Motors recently announced a shift away from Cruise funding towards driver-assist tech and privately owned autonomous vehicles.
Various companies have conducted autonomous vehicle tests in Japan, but Japan lags behind China and the US in this area. The country’s robust auto industry seems to prefer testing outside its borders, with Toyota and Nissan focusing on deploying robotaxis in China in partnership with local operators.
