Waymo readies autonomous cars for first international tests in Japan

Next week, Waymo’s driverless vehicles will begin testing on public roads in Japan for the Alphabet company’s first international trip. Waymo has yet to confirm whether it will eventually launch a commercial robotaxi service in the country, but the company is still celebrating the excursion as a “significant milestone.”

Waymo describes it as a simple “road trip” for collecting data about the nuances of Japanese driving, including left-hand traffic and navigating a dense urban environment. The vehicles will be driven manually for the purposes of gathering mapping data and will be managed by a local taxi fleet operator, Nihon Kotsu. About 25 vehicles are being sent, with the first already having been spotted in a parking lot in Tokyo. 

As noted by the LinkedIn user who posted the pictures, Waymo’s engineers will have their work cut out for them. Tokyo has its share of idiosyncratic environments, including “tight, winding roads” and thousands of pedestrians and cyclists seamlessly merging with vehicle traffic. 

The vehicles will be driven manually for the purposes of gathering mapping data

Waymo says trained drivers employed by Nihon Kotsu will manually navigate the vehicles across seven central Tokyo wards, including Minato, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Chiyoda, Chūō, Shinagawa, and Kōtō. Waymo operates manually when first arriving in a new city so its engineers can collect data on local traffic patterns and road features. 

Even though the company’s vehicles have only just arrived, Waymo says it’s already been laying the groundwork, training drivers and fleet managers from GO, a popular taxi app in Japan. The company has also been coordinating with local officials, government agencies, and first responders for the test. 

“In Tokyo, we are abiding by the same steadfast principles that guide us in the U.S. — commitment to safety, dedication to earning trust in communities where we operate, and collaboration with local officials and community groups here in Tokyo,” said Nicole Gavel, head of business development and strategic partnerships at Waymo, in a statement.

Waymo currently operates a commercial robotaxi service in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Austin, with imminent plans to expand to Silicon Valley, Atlanta, Miami, and Washington, DC. The company has also said it will conduct road trip tests in San Diego and Las Vegas.

As Waymo tests its vehicles in Japan, the country directly to the west of the island nation is ramping up its own driverless operations. China’s Apollo Go robotaxi service says it completed 1.1 million paid driverless rides in the fourth quarter of 2024 and is expanding to Hong Kong soon. Like Waymo, Apollo Go says it is performing an average of 200,000 paid trips each week.