Waymo, the autonomous driving division of Alphabet, announced plans to begin testing its self-driving car technology in Tokyo in early 2025. This marks the company's first time operating autonomous taxis on public roads outside the United States. The expansion into Japan is part of Waymo's "Road Trip" project, aimed at rolling out its technology to multiple cities and conducting field tests, each facing different challenges.
In Tokyo, Waymo's self-driving taxis will encounter a traffic environment that differs from the United States, including driving on the left side of the road and navigating more complex urban streets. The company stated that Tokyo's dense traffic and unique road layout will present new challenges for its autonomous driving technology. Previously, Waymo's road tests were primarily focused on various cities in the U.S., addressing environmental conditions such as rain in Miami and extreme heat in California's Death Valley.
Waymo's "Road Trip" plan is not just about testing autonomous driving technology; it also involves developing strategies to address specific challenges in each city. Initially, Waymo will deploy a small fleet of vehicles operated manually by human drivers to map specific areas. These maps will help Waymo's self-driving system better adapt to the local traffic environment, ultimately transitioning to fully autonomous driving mode.
The testing in Tokyo will be conducted in collaboration with the ride-hailing app GO and a Japanese transportation company. According to Waymo, the Japanese transportation company will be responsible for managing and maintaining the autonomous vehicles. In the initial phase, drivers from the Japanese company will manually operate the vehicles and create maps of key areas in Tokyo, including Minato, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Chiyoda, Chuo, Shinagawa, and Koto districts.
Additionally, Waymo stated that it will work with the team from the Japanese transportation company to train staff on how to operate Waymo's self-driving Jaguar I-Pace vehicles, further promoting the localization of autonomous driving technology.
Waymo's entry into the Japanese market contrasts with other autonomous driving companies. Just a week ago, General Motors announced it was abandoning its Cruise autonomous taxi project and terminating its partnership with Honda, which was set to launch autonomous taxi services in Tokyo in 2026. Cruise had planned to use the "Origin" autonomous taxi specifically designed for the Japanese market.
