Taxi Drivers in Japan

Hi All,

This question is one based in ignorance and is based on my experiences pre-covid.

I've always noticed a huge number of taxi drivers that would wait for customers near train stations and the like. So I guess I have two questions

(1) Why are there so many taxi drivers in Japan - or can they actually make an ok living from being a taxi driver in Japan?
(2) I've also noticed that many taxi drivers seem to be quite old (aka - retirement age). Is there a reason for this?

I believe it was in the early 2000s that they deregulated the taxi business, meaning requiring less number of vehicles for the minimum fleet size, and changing the taxi business from one that required �gapproval�h to just �greporting,�h that the number of taxi companies increased dramatically then. Then with the economic downturn, many people who went through �grestructuring�h at their former employers took up employment at taxi companies.

Thanks for that info. It answers most of what I wanted to know.

Does anyone know if taxi drivers can actually make a reasonable life out of the work? I'm just blown away by the number of taxis and their ability to make a reasonable life specifically with the overheads.....

It must be difficult with this many number of drivers, I admit. An acquaintance of mine (though he is an independent business owner) has been working night shift for some years, though under the current pandemic I�fm not sure what he is doing/if that pays off at all. Also the Olympics with no spectators must have been a major disappointment.

"(1) Why are there so many taxi drivers in Japan - or can they actually make an ok living from being a taxi driver in Japan?

(2) I've also noticed that many taxi drivers seem to be quite old (aka - retirement age). Is there a reason for this?" --mfedley

Part of the reason of why there are so many taxi drivers is the trains and buses often stop running around midnight. Though it depends on location and line as to exactly when the last train or bus is. So usually from 1AM (and earlier) until 5AM, taxis get to rule the streets.

In big cities like Tokyo and surrounding areas (pre-pandemic) there are still a lot of businesses open and lots of active people enjoying the night life.

Keep in mind that public transportation doesn't reach every point and can be less frequent (due to schedule). So lots of places are long walks from the train station or bus stop, and many people are running behind schedule, thus a plus for taxis.

It is interesting that many Japanese taxi drivers are older men (and sometimes appearing to have vision problems so need glasses, like farsightedness), but that is not always the case. Have seen younger and female taxi drivers too.

Debatably the reason is that these older Japanese tax drivers have clean driving records, know the areas really well, and it pays them good/decent money. So why not keep going as long as they can.

For a country with a low automobile ownership, it is not surprising to see so many taxis. NY City is like that, too. Lots of Japanese people travel by train, and taxi is a logical option for the last mile solution. For short distance travel, taxi is not that expensive. I talked to one driver who is a rice farmer, he drives during the offseason (between harvesting and planting) to supplement his farming income. With a good navigation system, anyone can be a taxi driver.

Like how it is in many countries around the world, driving taxis is one of the easiest jobs one can get without much school education, as long as you can drive and communicate with customers. After working as a driver for 10 years, you would be qualified to become a freelance taxi driver which would allow you to do side businesses.

So, for someone who doesn't mind driving for hours (which usually means that they love driving and tending their cars) but cannot get or do not want to do other jobs for one reason or another, taxi-driving is one of the most typical jobs to "make an ok living" safely and legally.

To become a freelance taxi driver (kojin-taxi), you need to be 64 years old or younger. But back in the days, there was no retirement age. So, those who became freelance before the year 2002 can legally drive at any old age. For those who started later than that, the retirement age is 75. Meanwhile, some taxi companies may not have any retirement age.

A lot of drivers seem to prefer a straight far-distance ride as opposed to short-distance ride with a lot of turns. The former is more comfortable for the driver, and the money is better considering how easier the driving is. For this reason, some drivers only deal with their usual wealthy and long-distance customers. Back in the days, they would even ignore customers-to-be to avoid short distances.

Nowadays, they're not allowed to ignore customers, and since the economy hasn't been good even pre-pandemic, they often have to stick politely to the short-distance customers. (So, if I'm blessed with a nice driver when I'm riding a taxi just for luxury, I personally try to tip him/her by asking for no change.)

In the cities, there would be workers at taxi stops who would often call taxis so that there would always be enough of them to accommodate people getting off trains. There are also certain stations that attract long-distance customers, and taxi drivers think it's worth queueing at those stations.

But in rural areas where most residents drive than ride, or in residential areas where there are no trains to carry a large population, you typically need to phone for taxis unless you're fetching them at a big train station. As ITO implied, it's extremely difficult to fetch a taxi on the streets of Los Angeles while it's extremely easy to fetch one in Manhattan. Same thing in Japan.

Apart from what I hear from a driver friend of mine, drivers would often tell you these interesting stories while you're riding their taxi. I also love the NHK TV series in which each episode introduces various drivers at a certain city. There were a few episodes about cities in Japan.
https://www4.nhk.or.jp/P3607/