Unlicensed Taxis Rampant in Japan’s Kamakura Due to Increase of Foreign Tourists

By Chika Nakayama / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

13:34 JST, November 17, 2024

With the increase in foreign tourists to Japan after the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increase in the number of unlicensed taxies seen at tourist spots in Kanagawa Prefecture.

Since Oct. 1, when a crackdown was tightened, the prefectural police have arrested six taxi drivers who were targeting visitors to Japan. The number of cases of such drivers has already risen to 12 this year, up from a few a year in the past.

Reservations made on website

On the approach to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu shrine in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, called Wakamiya-oji street, which is often crowded with foreign tourists, more than a dozen police officers were on the lookout for unlicensed taxis among the passing cars on Tuesday.

At around noon, they rushed over to a black luxury minivan with Kawaguchi license plates that had stopped at a red light and approached a person in the back seat, saying, “What is your relationship with the driver? You are not friends with the driver, are you?” Then, the passenger in the back seat replied “No.”

The police officers arrested a 34-year-old Chinese national living in Tokyo’s Adachi Ward on suspicion of violating the Road Transportation Law for operating an unlicensed taxi. The driver denied the charge, saying, “I was just giving a ride to a friend of a friend.”

According to the prefectural police, the car was carrying a family of six from China, who had come to Japan for sightseeing and were planning to travel back and forth between a guesthouse in Tokyo and Kamakura and Enoshima Island. They had made a reservation on a Chinese-language ride-hailing service website and had paid approximately ¥42,000 in advance. They seemed surprised by the sudden situation and explained that they had no idea it was an illegal cab.

Causing traffic jams

Such unlicensed taxis had been a problem mainly near Narita Airport, However, there have been cases of them operating at tourist spots in Yokohama as well as in Kamakura.

Many complaints have been received about these vehicles. A worker at a taxi company said, “They let customers get in and out of their vehicles on roads where parking is prohibited, causing more traffic congestion.”

For the people who ride in these taxis, there is also great risk in case of an accident due to such taxis not being insured.

“There is concern in the local community,” a prefectural police officer said. “We will continue to raise awareness and strengthen the crackdown.”