Waymo will begin testing its autonomous vehicle technology in Tokyo in early 2025; This will be the first time Alphabet's robotaxis have driven on public roads outside the United States.

The move to Japan is part of Waymo's "road trips," a development program that involves bringing and testing its technology to various cities; Every city faces different challenges. In Tokyo, the Waymo robotaxis will feature left-hand drive driving and a busy urban environment.

Until now, these trips have generally focused on a dozen U.S. cities to test specific conditions or environments, such as rain in Miami or extreme heat in Death Valley, California. The company also tested its vehicles in Buffalo; Washington, DC; Vegas; and Seattle. Typically, Waymo starts by bringing a small fleet to a city where a human manually drives the vehicle and maps specific areas. The vehicles will eventually be tested in autonomous mode, and initially there will be a human operator behind the wheel.

Waymo said it will partner with ride-hailing app GO and taxi company Nihon Kotsu as part of its "road trip" in Japan. Nihon Kotsu will oversee the management and service of Waymo vehicles, according to the company.

Initially, Nihon Kotsu drivers will manually operate the vehicles to map key areas of the Japanese capital, including Minato, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Chiyoda, Chūō, Shinagawa and Kōtō. Waymo said it is working with Nihon Kotsu's team to teach employees how to drive Waymo's autonomous Jaguar I-Pace vehicles.

The announcement comes just a week after GM said it would do so. Scrap the cruise robotaxi program, The decision also ended plans with partner Honda to launch a driverless ride-hailing service in Japan. In October 2023, Honda, Cruise, and GM announced plans to launch a robotaxi service. Together in Tokyo 2026 It uses Cruise's purpose-built robot axis called The Origin.