DiDi and Softbank jointly debut ride-hailing services in Osaka

This marks the official start of DiDi's service in the world's third largest economy.

The service will launch first for the Osaka city area and Senshu area (Southwest Osaka Region including Kansai International Airport). Over 10 local partner taxi companies, including Daiichi Koutsu Sangyo, Japan's largest taxi fleet operator, will use DiDi's AI-powered online fleet management and dispatch system to improve transportation efficiency, increase drivers' income, and provide more flexible travel options to citizens and travelers.

With a population of 8.83 million, Osaka is the largest city in DiDi's growing international operations network. The launch in Osaka also marks the beginning of DiDi's roaming ride-hailing services between Japan, Australia and Mexico, the three core overseas markets where the DiDi brand operates.

To capture surging demands from Greater China tourists, existing DiDi users in Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan will be able to hail a taxi in Osaka from their native app, with the aid of in-app real-time Chinese-Japanese text message translation and bilingual customer support.

Japan is the world's third largest taxi market, where 240,000 licensed taxis transport 1.6 billion passengers annually with a GMV of US$ 13.3 billion.

At the launch of DiDi Japan in July 2018, Jean Liu, President of DiDi, reaffirmed the company's commitment to developing extensive collaboration with all industry players to assist in smart city programs across Japan and Asia. DiDi Japan plans to expand its service to Kyoto, Fukuoka, Tokyo and other major cities in the near future.