Uber Japan has signed an operational partnership with Hinomaru Kotsu Co., Ltd., one of Tokyo's established taxi operators, to manage day-to-day fleet operations for an autonomous vehicle pilot deployment in the city scheduled for late 20261,4.
The pilot will deploy Nissan LEAF vehicles equipped with Wayve's AI Driver technology, with rides bookable through Uber's global ridehailing app. Hinomaru Kotsu will oversee depot operations, vehicle cleaning, maintenance, inspections, charging, and vehicle uptime.
The arrangement builds on a memorandum of understanding signed on March 12, 2026, by Uber Technologies, Wayve, and Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. for a robotaxi partnership in Japan. Under the structure announced, Uber will supply its matching platform and operational support tools, while Hinomaru Kotsu will serve as the authorized operator responsible for fleet management.
The partnership reflects a regulatory requirement: under Japanese law, passenger transport services must be operated by authorized taxi companies. The initiative is designed to comply with domestic laws, regulations, and licensing requirements. In the initial phase, experienced Hinomaru Kotsu drivers will ride on board as safety operators. Fully driverless operations would begin at a later stage, subject to regulatory approval.
ANALYSIS The multi-party structure — Uber for demand matching, Wayve for autonomy software, Nissan for hardware, and Hinomaru Kotsu for licensed fleet operations — distributes the regulatory and operational burden across specialists rather than requiring any single entity to hold every capability. The decision to start with safety drivers aboard and transition to driverless service only after regulatory clearance mirrors the phased approach seen in other markets and keeps the Tokyo deployment within existing Japanese transport law from day one.