The arrival of robotaxis in Japan is becoming a reality, and related stocks are attracting growing attention in the Japanese market on the back of proven results in the United States and China. The feature highlights stock selection with a focus on developments by Japanese companies and collaboration with overseas platforms, looking ahead to future growth.
Waymo in the United States and Baidu Apollo Go in China are already advancing large-scale commercial operations, while pilot operation of robotaxis is planned in Tokyo in the second half of 2026. Globally, growth markets centered on autonomous-driving technology and platforms are beginning to take shape, and funds are expected to flow into robotaxi-related stocks in the equity market as well.
GO listed on the TSE Growth Market on 16 June and announced that cumulative downloads had surpassed 40 million by mid-August. The Japanese market is entering a phase in which it will move from pilot operations toward full-scale commercialization of autonomous taxis, with a view expressed that the realization of driverless taxis using autonomous-driving technology is drawing closer.
As for developments overseas, Waymo is expected to surpass 500,000 fully autonomous rides per week by spring 2026 and operates in 11 U.S. cities. Apollo Go provided 3.2 million fully driverless rides in the January-March 2026 quarter, reaching 350,000 rides per week. These results suggest that robotaxis are becoming increasingly viable.
In Japan, 日の丸交通 signed an operating partnership agreement with Uber Technologies' Japanese subsidiary. It will partner in the robotaxi pilot operation in Tokyo, using Nissan Leafs equipped with Wayve's AI Driver and Uber's ride-hailing app. In the initial phase, the planned operating model will have safety drivers on board, with safety given priority.
The feature covers 6 stocks: SmartDrive, Tier IV, Aisan Technology, Fixstars, ZENRIN and Vitz. It introduces stocks attracting significant attention in fields including autonomous driving, mapping and software development.