Taxi-hailing apps take root in Japan as SoftBank, Didi join fray

Vice President of Didi Chuxing Stephen Zhu, SoftBank Corp's CEO Ken Miyauchi, President of Didi Chuxing Jean Liu and SoftBank Corp' executive Keigo Sugano shake hands after a news conference about their Japanese taxi-hailing joint venture in Tokyo, Japan, July 19, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Using an app to order up a car ride isn’t common in Japan, even though ride-hailing has spread across the globe. That’s partly because finding a taxi usually isn’t difficult, unless it’s in the suburbs or there’s pouring rain during rush hour. 

SoftBank Group Corp and China’s Didi Chuxing are the latest companies seeking to change that. They’re teaming up to introduce Didi Mobility Japan, a taxi-hailing platform that will start trials this year in Osaka, followed by Tokyo, Kyoto, Fukuoka and Okinawa.