As the race for driverless taxis in the United States intensifies, Uber is turning its attention to Tokyo, Japan, a major Asian city with even more demanding traffic conditions. According to...NewsUber has partnered with British self-driving startup Wayve and Japanese automaker Nissan, with plans to launch a pilot robotaxi program in Tokyo by the end of 2026. Meanwhile, Nuro, a self-driving startup backed by NVIDIA and Uber, has announced the start of testing its self-driving vehicles on Tokyo's challenging streets. Facing competitive pressure from Waymo's existing presence in the area, Tokyo is becoming the world's premier "stress testing ground" for cutting-edge self-driving technology.
Compared to the sparsely populated suburbs of the United States, Tokyo's narrow alleys and massive traffic flow will be the ultimate test for autonomous driving systems to mature.
Wayve and Nissan lend their support: AI-powered Leaf electric vehicle fleet
Uber's expansion in Tokyo is multifaceted. Firstly, it has partnered with British startup Wayve and local automaker Nissan to launch pilot tests of its self-driving taxis by the end of 2026.
This project will use Nissan Leaf electric vehicles as transportation, equipped with Wayve's "AI Driver" autonomous driving technology, ultimately connecting the fleet to Uber's ride-hailing platform. However, considering that Tokyo's roads are much narrower and more complex than those in the United States, trained drivers will still be present in the driver's seat of these test vehicles initially. These vehicles will collect real-world road condition data during their journeys, allowing the AI system to gradually adapt to the local driving environment.
For Wayve and Uber, Tokyo is just a small step in a grand plan; the two companies plan to launch self-driving taxi services in more than 10 cities around the world in the future, and expect to provide self-driving ride options through licensed taxi partners in Japan.
Nuro's ultimate stress test: Building a "universal self-driving platform"
Not only Wayve, but Nuro, an American self-driving startup that also receives support from Uber, NVIDIA and Toyota, has also begun testing in Tokyo.
Nuro has primarily tested its technology in the US for the past few years and plans to launch a self-driving taxi service in San Francisco this year in partnership with Uber and Lucid. Now, Nuro is moving a small test fleet to Tokyo. Nuro CEO Andrew Chapin stated that Tokyo's narrow, congested streets and "drive on the left" rule provide an excellent "stress test" for the self-driving system's capabilities. Due to Japanese law, Nuro will also have a human safety driver in the vehicle during testing.
It is worth noting that Andrew Chapin emphasized that Nuro's goal is to achieve Level 4 highly automated driving, and its strategy is to build a "universal autonomous driving platform," meaning that its technology is not limited to ride-hailing services, but can be extended to various different applications and device appearances (such as the driverless delivery vehicles they have partnered with 7-Eleven in California), which is significantly different from the development path of its competitor Waymo.
Uber's 10-vehicle self-driving empire faces off against Waymo.
To gain a foothold in Tokyo, Uber's camp must contend with formidable pioneers. As early as last year, Waymo deployed its Jaguar I-PACE fleet to Tokyo to collect data on driving habits. Furthermore, Waymo has been collaborating with Toyota, Nihon Kotsu, and the leading local ride-hailing app, Go, since April 2025.
Uber's ambitions don't stop there; it plans to deploy up to 10 self-driving vehicles starting in 2027, including 2 self-driving taxis powered by Lucid and Nuro technologies.
