Waymo, Nihon Kotsu, and Go have formally agreed to prepare for the commercial launch of a fully unmanned autonomous ride-hailing service in Tokyo in 2027, marking the Alphabet subsidiary's first committed market entry outside the United States1,2.
The three parties plan to start with a small fleet and expand gradually to 100 vehicles. Rides will be bookable through both the Go and Waymo apps. If launched, the service would be the first fully autonomous ride-hailing operation on Japanese public roads.
Waymo has been testing in Tokyo for the past year. The company said it still needs to secure the necessary permits and licenses for the Japanese service.
Waymo framed the Tokyo service as a complement to the city's transit network, saying the robotaxis would help "Japan support an aging population and address future labor shortages".
Shares of Go, which manages Japan's top taxi-booking app, rose as much as 9.7% on September 15. The stock is up more than 40% since Go's initial public offering in June.
Waymo is also preparing a service in London, its other announced international market. Domestically, the company serves tens of millions of commercial fully autonomous trips across 15 U.S. cities. It opened Las Vegas as its 15th U.S. metro on September 14[2], and Nashville recently became the first city where Waymo robotaxis are bookable through both the Waymo app and Lyft[3].
ANALYSIS The Tokyo agreement extends a rapid cadence of market openings: Las Vegas launched one day before the Tokyo partnership was announced, and Nashville added dual-platform booking the same weekend. The 100-vehicle ceiling in Tokyo is modest relative to Waymo's U.S. footprint, and the commercial timeline depends on Waymo securing the permits and licenses it has identified as outstanding.