Waymo will enter Tokyo by 2025, challenging the world's busiest city.

Alphabet's self-driving technology company Waymo will appear on the streets of Tokyo in early 2025. Waymo is partnering with Nihon Kotsu, Japan's largest taxi company, and the ride-hailing app GO. This is Waymo's first test outside of the United States, and they plan to provide self-driving taxi services in the future.

Waymo will enter Tokyo by 2025.

In the early stages, Nihon Kotsu drivers manually operated Waymo's vehicles to map out Tokyo's main areas. These areas include Shinjuku, Shibuya, Minato, Chiyoda, Chuo, Shinagawa, and Koto.

This is not only Waymo's first test outside the United States, but the system also needs to adapt to the subtle differences associated with left-hand traffic and operating in the world's most densely populated city environment.

The first Waymo all-electric Jaguar I-PACE will arrive in Tokyo in early 2025. Partner and Tokyo's largest taxi operator Nihon Kotsu will be responsible for managing and maintaining Waymo vehicles. The two companies are working closely together to train Nihon Kotsu's team to operate vehicles equipped with Waymo's autonomous driving system. Initially, Nihon Kotsu drivers will manually operate the vehicles and collect more detailed maps in areas including Shinjuku, Shibuya, Minato, Chiyoda, Chuo, Shinagawa, and Koto.

Japan's aging population, autonomous driving has potential in rural areas

However, Bloomberg columnist Catherine Thorbecke has a different view. She believes that even for humans, driving in the capital is very difficult. However, autonomous driving cars can go to rural areas to fill the labor shortage and traffic gap.

Waymo's ride-hailing service currently operates in large areas of Phoenix, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Even the most populous city in these American cities (Los Angeles, with a population of less than 4 million) pales in comparison to Tokyo's 14 million residents (not including the frequently cited metropolitan area's 36 million residents).

Thorbecke believes that with the aging population in Japan and the government's priority to address the labor shortage issue, autonomous driving technology has a great opportunity to play a role locally. Waymo can first introduce its services to rural communities. These sparsely populated areas have fewer pedestrians and are easier to drive. Residents there need alternative solutions to replace the increasingly reduced public transportation services. It may not be the sensational effect pursued by Waymo in big cities, but it could be an unexpected winner.

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