Didi Mobility Japan, a joint venture between Didi Chuxing and SoftBank Corp, has launched its taxi-hailing service in Tokyo and Kyoto, following its first Japan launch in Osaka, according to an official statement today.
These three cities are home to over 50 million people, making up nearly 50% of Japan’s population. They’re also popular destinations for the over 30 million tourists visiting the country each year, said Didi.
Didi Japan will be launching new promotion programs including a booking fee waiver for Tokyo riders, a measure it once took to quickly gain market share in China.
In addition, the joint venture aims to also attract Chinese visitors to Japan. Existing Didi users in the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong will be able to hail a taxi in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka from their native apps, aided by in-app real-time Chinese-Japanese text message translation and 24/7 Chinese customer support.
Didi said the number of Chinese tourists traveling to Japan hit a record high in 2018, exceeding 8 million with a year-on-year growth of 13.9%, citing the Japan Tourism Agency.
Didi claims it is the largest taxi-hailing app globally connecting over 2 million taxi drivers across China, Latin America, and Japan.
Contact the writer at jingli@kr-asia.com
Editor: Nadine Freischlad
