On the 9th, sociologist Noritoshi Furuichi posted on X (formerly Twitter) that “I take rideshares and app-hailed taxis all over the world, but Japanese taxis are now overwhelmingly inferior.” He cited high fares, scary driving, and bad odors, arguing the problem lies not with individual drivers but with the “system” itself. The post sparked a split reaction on 5channel’s Geinou/Sports Express+ board, with some countering that overseas taxis are actually scarier, others pointing out that it’s unclear which countries Furuichi means by “overseas,” and the discussion spreading into differences in rideshare adoption and the rollout of self-driving taxis.
Sociologist Noritoshi Furuichi updated his X (formerly Twitter) account on the 9th, offering a harsh assessment of Japanese taxis compared to those overseas.
Furuichi wrote, “I take rideshares and app-hailed taxis all over the world, and Japanese taxis are now overwhelmingly inferior. The fares are expensive, the driving is scary, and sometimes they smell,” delivering a harsh review of Japan’s taxis.
He continued, “Of course there are good drivers, but some are elderly and scary to ride with, others are rookies who don’t know the roads — it’s really bad. This isn’t about individual ability, it’s a problem with the system,” making clear he believes the issue lies with the industry’s structure rather than individual drivers.
Source: ggtnews.net / Original article here
He's just comparing the best of overseas with the worst of Japan
They're bad, but the fares aren't as high as Japan's, so they're easy to use casually
Though I guess there's rideshare now anyway
Isn't he just saying this after riding a cab once or twice?
Though I've only experienced Istanbul and the US
Compared to that, Japanese taxis are a cut above
This guy's just unpopular, that's all
he even said "sometimes"
Say exactly how it smells
If it's fart-smell I'll sympathize
He'd rake it in
Isn't he just a TV personality playing the sociologist character, a disciple of Chizuko Ueno? (a prominent feminist sociologist)
Some weird syndrome unique to showbiz
Because he loves picking on the weak lol
Same as that crowd — their specialty is relentlessly targeting and bullying whoever won't fight back
The TV world and other shady circles love manipulating impressions and steering public opinion, and their standard move when challenged is to threaten to sue you for "defamation" lol
Can't Juppu (nickname for Furuichi) get self-driving taxis going?
I wonder what the accident rate is like
It's not there yet, but will it eventually become safer than human driving?
Background and Key Points of the Debate
The point splitting opinion on Furuichi’s remarks is the premise of the comparison itself. Japan’s taxi fares are set under a government-regulated fixed-rate system with no free price competition, a fundamentally different structure from cities overseas where rideshare services create fare competition. Many in the thread questioned how he could declare Japanese taxis “inferior” without specifying which countries or cities overseas he meant, and criticism centered on the idea that he was comparing only the good side of “overseas” with only the bad side of Japan. That said, his points about a rising share of elderly drivers and rookies unfamiliar with the roads do echo real conditions in an industry facing a driver shortage. The discussion also touched on how self-driving taxis are already rolling out in places like the US, branching into a separate debate about Japan’s regulatory lag. One point readers can easily miss is that Furuichi wasn’t rejecting the taxi industry outright — his claim was specifically about a “systemic” problem, and he himself avoided blaming individual drivers.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5channel (Geinou/Sports Express+) thread “Sociologist Noritoshi Furuichi slams Japanese taxis compared to overseas: “Overwhelmingly inferior,” “Fares are high, driving is scary, and sometimes they smell”“
