Didi expands service in Japan

Didi Mobility Japan announced Wednesday the official launch of its taxi-hailing service in Tokyo and Kyoto. 

The company is a joint venture between Didi Chuxing and SoftBank Corp.

This represents Didi Japan's expansion into the country's three core cities following its launch in September 2018 in Osaka. 

Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka are home to over 50 million people, nearly 50 percent of Japan's population, and are popular destinations for the over 30 million tourists visiting the country each year.

Didi Japan said in a statement that it is dedicated to partnering with leading taxi companies to improve taxi provision and services.

Since Didi Japan's launch in Osaka six months ago, the number of Didi taxi operators tripled on the platform, with the business achieving 60 percent monthly growth.

In March 2019 Didi was named the taxi-hailing app with the highest user satisfaction in the Osaka area. 

Didi Japan is also attracting a growing fan base among Chinese visitors to Japan.

According to the Japan Tourism Agency, 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 percent.

Existing Didi users on the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong will be able to hail taxis in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka from their native app, aided by in-app, real-time, Chinese-Japanese text message translation and Chinese customer support.