Uber Finally Catches a Break in Japan With Pilot Taxi Service

  • Pilot program to launch on Awaji Island, population 120,000
  • Uber’s app will be used to match local taxi drivers and riders
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After years of being sidelined by Japan’s laws against ride-sharing, Uber Technologies Inc. won government approval for a taxi-hailing pilot program in Japan.

Starting this summer, Uber will connect local drivers and passengers in Awaji, a remote island that’s home to 120,000 people and a dozen taxi companies, the company said in a statement Tuesday.