Japan to promote sharing economy for solving regional issues

September 4, 2017

TOKYO- Japan's internal affairs ministry plans to back efforts in fiscal 2018 to utilize the so-called sharing economy to tackle regional problems such as depopulation and labor shortages.

Specifically, the ministry will encourage the provision of paid transportation services for the elderly using vehicles owned by individuals, or child care services by people with time to spare.

The ministry has included related costs totaling 200 million yen in its budget request for the fiscal year, which will begin in April next year, according to officials.

The sharing economy is a business model in which individuals offer via the Internet assets that are not normally in use to people in need of such assets.

Key players in the sharing economy include Uber Technologies Inc., the US provider of services that link drivers with passengers via mobile apps. Jiji Press