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Waymo will begin testing autonomous vehicle technology in Tokyo in early 2025, the first time the Alphabet company’s robot taxis will drive on public roads outside the United States.
The move to Japan is part of Waymo’s “road trips,” a development program that involves bringing the technology to different cities and testing each city with different challenges. In Tokyo, Waymo’s robot taxi will face left-hand driving and a busy urban environment.
So far, these road trips have focused on dozens of US cities, usually to test specific conditions or environments, such as rain in Miami or extreme heat in Death Valley, California. The company also tested its cars in Buffalo; Washington, DC; Las Vegas; and Seattle. Typically, Waymo starts by bringing a small fleet to a city, where a human drives the car manually and maps certain areas. The cars will eventually be tested in autonomous mode, first with a human operator behind the wheel.
Waymo said it will partner with taxi-hailing app GO and taxi company Nihon Kotsu as part of its Japanese “road trip.” Nihon Kotsu will oversee the management and servicing of Waymo vehicles, the company said.
Initially, Nihon Kotsu drivers will manually operate vehicles to map key areas of the Japanese capital, including Minato, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Chiyoda, Chuo, Shinagawa and Koto. Waymo said it is working with the Nihon Kotsu team to train its employees to drive Waymo’s self-driving Jaguar I-Pace cars.
The announcement comes just a week after GM said it would Cancel Cruise robotaxi, The decision also comes with partner Honda planning to launch a self-driving ride-hailing service in Japan. In October 2023, Honda, Cruise and GM announced plans to launch a robotaxi service. Together in Tokyo 2026 Using Cruise’s purpose-built robotax, The Origin.
