Photo/Illutration With the COVID-19 pandemic in the past, Yokohama Port is seeing a rebound in the number of calls made by cruise ships, such as the ones seen here in the city’s Tsurumi Ward in April. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

YOKOHAMA--With the sharp rebound in the number of inbound tourists visiting Japan and a dearth of taxi drivers, the government of this port city is considering climbing aboard ridesharing for the first time. 

Some officials have proposed having fluent foreign language speakers serve as drivers under a similar setup for a target clientele of non-Japanese tourists visiting on large passenger ships.

The move to allow ridesharing, in which drivers of private vehicles can carry passengers for a fee, was prompted by several factors.

Discussions suddenly gained momentum on lifting the existing ban on ridesharing in Japan after former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga proposed in August there should be discussions toward introduction of a system.

Taro Kono, minister for digital transformation, and Shinjiro Koizumi, a former environment minister, are also supporting the proposal.

Suga, Kono and Koizumi represent Lower House constituencies in Kanagawa Prefecture. 

The government of Kanagawa Prefecture, where Yokohama is located, has started discussing lifting the ban in the city of Miura in the prefecture. 

The prefectural and municipal governments of Osaka are also mulling possible introduction of a ridesharing system across the prefecture ahead of, and during, the 2025 Osaka Kansai Expo.

Yokohama officials said that Yokohama Port recorded 112 calls by cruise ships, including 60 made by foreign vessels, during the first eight months of this year.

The pace is closing in on that of the pre-pandemic year of 2019, which saw 188 similar port calls, including 87 made by foreign cruise ships.

In the meantime, the number of taxi drivers employed by corporations in Kanagawa Prefecture dropped more than 40 percent in a decade from 23,406 in fiscal 2011 to 13,146 in fiscal 2021.

Some taxi users have complained they are having to wait longer to take a taxi in Yokohama, city officials said.

Sources said that ridesharing has emerged as a potential remedy to meet the diversifying needs of tourists to Japan and the growing demand for made-to-order tours that are tailored to their individual requests.

The central government currently has a system for “onerous passenger transportation with private vehicles,” which allows nonprofit corporations and other parties to carry passengers for a fee.

Use of the system, however, is permitted only in depopulated and other communities where bus and taxi services are not available. The Yokohama city government is planning to call on the central government to ease the corresponding restrictions.

On a separate front, those wishing to drive a taxi in an urban area must pass a geography exam, in addition to obtaining a class 2 driver’s license.

City officials said they will also request a review of the geography test requirement, which they say is outdated, given the widespread use of car navigation systems.

(This article was written by Kantaro Katashima and Yusuke Masuda.)

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