Minister Nakatsuji pushes for ridesharing and autonomous driving

Hiroshi Nakatsuji, the Minister for Administrative Reform and the first cabinet member from the Japan Innovation Party, has expressed strong intent to promote the introduction of ridesharing and autonomous driving technologies. In his first press conference following his appointment, Nakatsuji stated that these initiatives are essential to addressing the shortage of transportation options.

The minister emphasized the need for thorough regulatory reforms from a user-centric perspective to keep pace with technological evolution and changing environments. He plans to coordinate with relevant ministers to advance discussions on these issues.

The Japan Innovation Party had previously submitted a proposal in June calling for the full-scale introduction of ridesharing. Current ‘Japanese-style ridesharing’ models face challenges such as low utilization rates due to strict regulations that limit participation primarily to taxi companies.