Waymo, which is owned by Alphabet, will test its self-driving car technology in Tokyo in early 2025. This will be the first time the company has used its robotaxis on public roads outside the United States. Waymo's road trips project, which aims to adapt its technology to different locations around the world, each with distinct problems, includes expanding to Japan. It will be difficult to navigate left-hand traffic and crowded urban environments in Tokyo.
These experiments, previously targeted on certain weather and environmental conditions – such as the intense heat of Death Valley, California, or torrential rains in Miami – were carried out in a dozen American cities. Buffalo, Washington, D.C., Las Vegas and Seattle were all used as test cities. In each city, Waymo typically starts with a small fleet and maps the terrain by hand before moving to autonomous testing under human supervision.
Waymo is collaborating with local taxi operator Nihon Kotsu, which will oversee and maintain the Waymo fleet, and with taxi app GO for its trials in Tokyo. In order to map important parts of Tokyo, including Minato, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Chiyoda, Chūō, Shinagawa and Kōtō, Nihon Kotsu drivers will first drive the cars by hand. Additionally, Waymo and Nihon Kotsu are working closely to train their employees to drive Jaguar I-Pace self-driving cars.
This news follows GM's statement that its Cruise robotaxi development was ending, as well as the cancellation of a planned autonomous ride-sharing service in Japan with Honda. The cancellation comes after Honda, Cruise and GM jointly announced in October 2023 that they would launch a robotaxi service in Tokyo in 2026 with Cruise's specially created robotaxis, The Origin.
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