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, the companies said on September 151,2. The service would mark Waymo's first committed market entry outside the United States and the first fully autonomous ride-hailing operation on Japanese public roads3,5.
The announcement comes one day after Waymo opened Las Vegas as its 15th U.S. metro[2] and as the company simultaneously prepares a service in London.
Fleet and access
The three partners plan to start with a small initial fleet and expand gradually to around 100 vehicles across key Tokyo neighborhoods. Rides will be bookable through both the Go taxi app and the Waymo app, letting users hail conventional taxis and autonomous trips from a single interface.
Go manages Japan's top taxi-booking app. Shares of Go rose as much as 9.7% on September 15; the stock is up more than 40% since its initial public offering in June.
Regulatory gap
Waymo said it still needs to secure the necessary permits and licenses to operate in Japan. Japanese regulations currently require a human being in the driver's seat regardless of the vehicle's level of autonomy. Waymo vehicles have been driving autonomously in Tokyo over the past year while supervised by trained Nihon Kotsu crew members. Waymo arrived in Tokyo in 2025.
ANALYSIS The regulatory requirement for a human in the driver's seat represents a direct obstacle to the planned unmanned service; the 2027 timeline implicitly depends on a rule change or exemption that has not yet been granted.
Competitive and demographic context
Waymo said the robotaxis are intended to complement Tokyo's transportation network and help Japan respond to an aging population and future labor shortages. Nihon Kotsu brings a nearly century-long legacy of taxi operations in Tokyo.
Earlier this year, U.S. self-driving startup Nuro began testing in Tokyo after partnering with Uber Technologies and Lucid Group. Nuro is backed by Nvidia and Toyota Motor.
Waymo has served tens of millions of commercial fully autonomous trips across 15 major U.S. cities and delivers over half a million trips each week. The company said its autonomous driving technology has been demonstrated to be over 15 times safer than human drivers.
ANALYSIS The partnership structure, pairing Waymo's autonomous stack with Nihon Kotsu's local operational knowledge and Go's rider platform, distributes the technical and regulatory burden across all three parties.