An Uber taxi operates in Tokyo in this undated photo. (Comyu/Wikimedia Commons)

TOKYO — Uber, the ride-hailing service common in the United States but less so in Japan, is taking to the streets of Tokyo for a test drive.

Uber is cooperating with several car-share and taxi companies to offer a service for Uber drivers who do not have their own vehicle, according to a Sept. 3 news release on Uber Japan’s website.

Foreigners in Japan can use their app as normal and choose between a traditional taxi or the new Uber vehicles.

Uber began working with car rental company Times Mobility and taxi company Royal Limousine to source vehicles for Uber drivers, according to the release.

Uber has operated in Japan since 2018, but its service is hard to come by for several reasons, including the availability and lower cost of taxis, according to a November post on the Japan Dev blog.

Since 2019, however, the number of taxi drivers has declined by almost 20% due to older drivers retiring and younger drivers switching to other jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to public broadcaster NHK on April 22.

The operations of ride-hailing companies in Japan must be run by a taxi company, which is responsible for hiring, training and paying the drivers.

“Currently, while recruiting ride-sharing drivers, we have had issues where many of them, unfortunately, had to give up because they do not have their own cars,” Royal Limousine CEO Kensaku Kaneko said in the release.

“Also, we only have a few unused taxi vehicles, so it is difficult to prepare vehicles to be rented to ride-shares, especially with the current limited operating hours,” he said.

The car-share trial started with two cars in Yurakucho, one of central Tokyo’s 23 wards. Over time it will expand to the other 22 wards and Musashino and Mitaka cities with the goal of being fully operational by year’s end.

“Through this initiative, we will provide an opportunity for people, who do not own their own cars, to become ride-sharing drivers, and support the recruitment activities of taxi companies,” the release stated.

Ride-hailing services in Japan are only allowed to operate in areas and at times the ministry approves, based on the shortages of taxis, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism’s website.

Ride-hailing and ride-share services operate in 22 prefectures with nine more preparing to begin offering the service, but these services will be further expanded, according to the ministry. The drivers must operate under the management of taxi companies and fares are set in accordance with taxi fares, it stated.

The car-share trial period between the three companies in Tokyo will last until Nov. 30, according to the release.

Ride-sharing services began operating in Japan in April to resolve taxi shortages, according to the ministry.

The Japanese government will come to a decision about letting ride-share companies operate on their own and expanding the availability of these services after assessing the results of the initial trial, according to the Japan Times article.