Uber Technologies Inc’s strategy for Japan, where ride-sharing is banned, is as unique as the country itself – think grandma in running shoes delivering ramen noodles.
Chief executive officer Dara Khosrowshahi was in the country this week to stress the importance of the market, where the San Francisco-based company has built a growing food-delivery business but kept rides limited to black-car hires and taxi dispatches. The archipelago is also home to Uber’s biggest shareholder, SoftBank Group Corp, and where he’s planning to boost staff in the coming year.