Ride-hailing giant Didi to join Japan's Daiichi Koutsu

Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing is gearing up to partner with Japanese taxi provider Daiichi Koutsu Sangyo and launch an app-based cab service in Tokyo early next year, reports said on Monday.

Unlicensed private vehicles in Japan are generally prohibited from engaging in paid transportation, which is Didi's bread and butter, according to Nikkei Asian Review.

As a workaround, Didi is entering the Japanese market via taxicabs rather than private vehicles, the report added.

Comprising around 8,700 vehicles, Daiichi Koutsu Sangyo has the largest taxi fleet in Japan.

The Chinese ride-hailing company now plans to register about 500 of those in its proprietary application by early next year, with the number to eventually rise to a few thousand.

Didi will reportedly expand the service nationally by joining hands with other Japanese taxi companies.

Both the companies are currently deciding on fares, operating procedures among other details.

Meanwhile, Daiichi Koutsu is eyeing to leverage the collaboration to attract more Chinese tourists in turn.

Headquartered in Beijing, Didi is the world's largest ride-hailing facilitator with over 21 million rides a day among its approximately 440 million registered users.

Currently, the platform is available primarily in Chinese but support for Japanese-language version is expected.

--IANS

ksc/na/vm