A service that launched on Oct. 6, 2025, allows people at Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo to hail taxis using the Uber app. (Marc Castaneda/Stars and Stripes)
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — The ride-hailing service Uber is now an option for airmen and their families traveling on and off this airlift hub in western Tokyo, according to the Army and Air Force Exchange Service.
Yokota’s exchange posted photos on Oct. 6 of a ceremony launching the Uber application for hailing taxis on base. The post showed 374th Airlift Wing commander Col. Richard McElhaney and other officials cutting a ribbon to promote the service.
The Uber app links Yokota customers with taxis operated by local company Yokokawa Kanko, the firm’s managing director Kento Yamaguchi said in an email Tuesday.
Uber launched its ride-hailing service in 2011 in San Francisco as an alternative to traditional taxi service but now partners with taxi companies that employ the Uber app.
In the United States, Uber reported 180 million monthly active customers averaging 6.1 trips a month in the second quarter of this year, the Wall Street Journal reported Aug. 6.
However, ride-hailing services can’t easily access U.S. military bases where only authorized personnel can enter.
In a separate Facebook post on Oct. 6, AAFES said Uber passengers may travel from Yokota to any destination outside the base.
The app can be used only to hail rides to the base from places that are 20 minutes’ drive from Yokota’s main gate, according to the post.
The Uber app had to be programmed to only call for taxis with base passes, AAFES spokesman Chris Ward said by email Friday.
Taxi companies in Japan typically have specific territories in which they are allowed to operate, he said.
“Yokota is within multiple taxi territories,” he said. “A great deal of coordination is required to get approved taxi services authorized on base that can accept rides in the other territories.”
Uber in Japan is a third-party license that a local taxi company can opt into, Ward said.
“If customers have questions regarding Uber availability at their installation, they may contact their local taxi service and see if they operate using the Uber app,” he said.
A Japanese language ride-hailing app called Yokokawa Taxi, which was launched in May 2024 and promoted by AAFES, allowed people to summon Yokokawa Kanko taxis to spots on Yokota before the Uber app launch.
People can still use that app to hail rides, Ward said.
The number of customers using the Japanese-language app has been increasing but Yamaguchi expects more interest from people using Uber.
“It is a ride-hailing app with a large share of the international market,” he said. “Uber has a proven track record of use around the world, so we thought it would be convenient for our customers when using taxis.”
The taxi company is approved for customer pick-ups and drop-offs at homes and offices on Yokota, although some locations, such as the flight line, are off limits, he said.
