E-Scooter Businesses in Japan Establish “Micromobility Promotion Council”

Five companies, mainly micromobility sharing providers in Japan, including AnyPay, Inc. (Head office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Takafumi Inoue), Kioicho Strategy Institute, Inc. (Head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Masahito Seno), Luup, Inc. (Head office: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Daiki Okai), mymerit, Inc. (Head office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Taiki Nakane), Z Corporation Inc. (Head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Manabu Miyasaka) (*In alphabetical order), have established the Micromobility Promotion Council to promote the social implementation of new micromobility technologies.

Purpose of Establishment of the Council

Starting in 2018, studies are underway to develop innovative technologies and social systems represented by automated driving and Mobility as a Service (MaaS) that can help solve mobility issues, such as measures for so-called shopping refugees and tourists in urban and rural areas, while utilizing existing means of public transportation.

However, transit systems that complement the first and last one-mile transportation have only been implemented in a few areas, with the exception of some shared e-bkies operations. As a result, 80% of these one-mile transportation are still dependent on walking or biking. However, various types of micromobility have already been developed, such as e-scooters, cars for the elderly, and e-wheelchairs, and experiments are underway to connect these with existing public transportation systems. In the future, as the population ages and the number of shopping refugees increases due to the aging of the population and the lack of one-mile transportation, and as automobile accidents involving the elderly become an issue, efforts to connect this one-mile distance will be essential, and the social implementation of this micromobility will be key to maintaining and developing the vitality of the cities.

The council was established to promote efforts for social implementation of new micromobility technologies, led by micromobility sharing providers. The industry is united in its efforts to contribute to the establishment of a self-regulatory system and new regulations to ensure safety and security.

Name of the Council

Micromobility Promotion Council

Activity Details

The main topics to be discussed are as follows:
1. Establishment of a self-regulatory system
2. Determination of basic policies for safe riding guidance
3. Promote demonstration experiments and businesses
4. Policy recommendations