Japan's ride-share program has yet to spread, even as the number of foreign visitors keeps rising. The plan took hold after Yoshihide Suga, then prime minister, said in August 2023 that he was strongly committed to it, citing severe taxi shortages at tourist spots.
It became reality in April of the following year under the government of Fumio Kishida, in a form that uses ordinary drivers under the operating control of a taxi company. Ride-sharing as it works abroad lets ordinary drivers carry passengers in their own cars in their spare time. The Japanese version is quite different.
The shortage that prompted the plan has not eased. Visitor numbers keep climbing, and the service shows no sign of catching on, Daily Shincho reported.