Waymo, GO and Nihon Kotsu Plan Fully Driverless Taxi Service in Tokyo by 2027

Waymo, Japanese ride-hailing app operator GO Inc. and taxi company Nihon Kotsu said on September 15, 2026 that they plan to launch Japan's first fully autonomous commercial taxi service in Tokyo in 2027. The companies said the service will begin with a small fleet and later expand to about 100 vehicles covering major areas of Tokyo, subject to regulatory approval and continued validation of Waymo's technology and operating model. In a joint statement, the three parties said that once approval is obtained and the service passes comprehensive validation, it will operate without a driver and can be booked through both the GO and Waymo apps.

Speaking at a joint news conference in Tokyo, Waymo co-chief executive Tekedra Mawakana said the service will be a driverless, public-facing operation from day one, and that the company will proceed by gradually expanding the fleet until anyone in Tokyo can download the app and take a ride. The announcement is the latest step in Waymo's expansion in the Japanese market. The company began collecting data in Tokyo in 2025 using human-driven Jaguar I-PACE vehicles, its first operations on public roads outside the United States.

The companies said the service is intended to address Japan's driver shortage and its broader population decline. Japanese automaker Nissan has separately partnered with British startup Wayve and with Uber to develop robotaxis.