Sony Corp is the latest big business to enter the ride hailing fray in Japan.
According to the Nikkei newspaper, Sony is planning a joint venture partnership to develop an ride hailing system based on artificial intelligence.
Sony is reportedly ready to enter into an agreement with Daiwa Motor Transportation and other Japanese taxi firms.
Japan is considered a huge growth market for ride sharing as it has so far been mostly closed off to new entrants by strict rules favouring traditional cab operators.
Currently only professional drivers can ply their trade.
That could soon change with a groundswell of support to ease regulations and encourage more competition.
Toyota Motor Corp recently announced it would buy a stake in in taxi-hailing service JapanTaxi, which is run by the country’s biggest cab firm Nihon Kotsu.
Also, serial ride hailing investor SoftBank Group Corp plans to enter the Japan market by teaming up with China’s largest ride sharing platform Didi Chuxing.
