Tokyo Taxi Company Boosting Number of Foreign Drivers

May 6, 2018

Tokyo- Japanese taxi operator Hinomaru Kotsu Co. is boosting the number of its foreign drivers in response to an increase in visitors from abroad.

A total of 23 foreign drivers from 11 countries, including Brazil, China and Egypt, are working for the Tokyo-based company.

Among them, Mohamed Selim, 31, from Egypt, became interested in Japan and started studying Japanese after watching popular Japanese soccer manga and anime series Captain Tsubasa.

He worked for a "ryokan" Japanese-style hotel in the western prefecture of Hiroshima between 2015 and 2016. After briefly returning to Egypt, Selim began to work for Hinomaru Kotsu in July 2017. He speaks Arabic, Japanese and English.

People other than Japanese account for some 20 pct of his customers, and many of them say that he is helpful because he speaks English, according to Selim.

Selim has earned a certificate as a government-licensed guide interpreter.

He said that he wants to introduce the great attributes of Japanese people, including politeness and good manners, to visitors from abroad.

Hinomaru Kotsu has carried out active campaigns to hire foreign drivers, such as opening an English website and posting job offers online.

The company assists new foreign recruits obtaining a taxi driver license and certificates required to work as tour guides.

Introducing tablet devices could be an option to resolve the language problem, an official of Hinomaru Kotsu said.

But "direct communication" is important to welcome foreign guests with the spirit of "omotenashi," the official emphasized, using the Japanese word meaning hospitality.

"We aim to increase the number of our foreign drivers to 100" by the time the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games are held, the official said. Jiji Press