JAPAN
Japan’s public bus network is to convert to automated vehicles by 2020 in some areas, the Government has announced.
It said the services would mainly operate in depopulated districts where traditional train and bus services have been discontinued.
A draft policy released by the Government said the buses would be operated from control centres and would mostly transport residents for shopping or hospital visits.
The service is due to start by 2020, and the Government plans to increase the number of areas using automated buses to more than 100 by 2030.
The policy also said problems associated with automated public transport vehicles, such as determining the responsible party when automated vehicles caused accidents and what penalties should be imposed when they violate traffic laws, would also be under consideration.
The Government said the policy would also submit to the Diet (Parliament) within this year a Bill to promote computerisation of Public Service procedures.
“This ‘digital first Bill’ will eliminate the paper-based requirement of stamping of seals and the attachment of documents,” the Government said.
“The Government is aiming to increase the number of Local Governments that introduce technologies to process big data with artificial intelligence to 300 by the end of fiscal 2020.”
It said in the fields of medical and nursing-care services, the Government would start a system enabling medical institutions to share information on patients on a full-scale basis in fiscal 2020.
Tokyo, 6 June 2018
