Waymo has moved forward with its autonomous driving rollout in Tokyo through its partnership with Japanese taxi and limousine operator Nihon Kotsu.
According to the US-based autonomous driving technology company, its autonomous driving system is currently being run by Nihon Kotsu crew members while it adapts to local road conditions.
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Waymo business development and strategic partnerships head Nicole Gavel said: “By combining Nihon Kotsu’s deep-rooted legacy with Waymo’s autonomous driving technology, we are laying the groundwork for a new chapter of mobility in Tokyo.
“We are taking our safety-proven technology – which already provides half a million fully autonomous trips a week without a representative in the vehicle – and teaching it to encompass the nuances of Tokyo’s streets.”
The update follows the start of supervised driving operations in April last year, covering a range of urban driving scenarios in Tokyo.
Waymo said its technology has accumulated more than 300 million autonomous kilometres on public roads in the US.
It operates a fully driverless ride-hailing service across 10 cities, completing over 500,000 trips each week.
The company added that its Waymo Foundation Model acts as an ongoing safety validation layer within its end-to-end AI system before real-world decisions are carried out.
Nihon Kotsu board director and GO chairman Ichiro Kawanabe added: “Through the partnership between Waymo, Nihon Kotsu, and GO, Nihon Kotsu drivers have been operating Waymo vehicles across a diverse range of road environments—from wide arterial roads to narrow local streets—since April last year.
“These efforts are focused on providing the driving data necessary to adapt the Waymo Driver to Tokyo’s complex and unique urban landscape.”
The Tokyo initiative builds on Waymo’s established ride-hailing operations in the US, as it works towards a future commercial launch in the city alongside Nihon Kotsu and GO.
Last month, Waymo completed a $16bn financing round that values the autonomous driving company at $126bn on a post-money basis.
