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Uber's Failure in Japan

disruptingjapan.com

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Re: Uber's Failure in Japan

#11

Post by lathiat »

blisse wrote: post #7
kizza wrote: post #2

I think in many countries companies like Uber and AirBnB are seen to be a challenge to the democratic will of the people. It should be no surprise that we don't care very much for this! I wonder if Uber could have achieved success in markets with more trusted governments (Germany, Japan) if they started with a softer approach.

Really? I find that most people think it's the other way around, that Uber and AirBnB represent the democratic will of the people, challenging broken systems that the people do not endorse now that a better idea is available. At least, that's how it looks over in USA/Canada.

feels that way as an Australian, also. We probably have a worse relationship with our government than the USA.

Re: Uber's Failure in Japan

#12

Post by pcr0 »

jsnathan wrote: post #3

The article basically states that Uber's cavalier attitude towards the law was the wrong approach to use in Japan, because the Japanese public does not respect this attitude, and that they should have worked it out with regulators before they started operations. I guess the broader lesson implied is that you need to put in the effort to understand the local culture, and adapt your strategies accordingly, before you t…

That was one half of the reason. The other being that existing taxis are good enough.

A similar story is playing out in Hong Kong, even without the government cracking down as hard. There are some annoying taxi drivers, but for the most part, local taxis are cheap, fast and comfortable.

Re: Uber's Failure in Japan

#13

Post by jj1bdx »

I think Uber's failure in Japan means the failures in Tokyo downtown and other large cities like Osaka. In those cities you don't have to wait much to pick the cars up. It's not the same like in SF. Discovering a niche market for Uber in Japanese large cities might be difficult.

Re: Uber's Failure in Japan

#14

Post by 2bitencryption »

jsnathan wrote: post #3

The article basically states that Uber's cavalier attitude towards the law was the wrong approach to use in Japan, because the Japanese public does not respect this attitude, and that they should have worked it out with regulators before they started operations. I guess the broader lesson implied is that you need to put in the effort to understand the local culture, and adapt your strategies accordingly, before you t…

That and, having taken taxis in Japan... they're honestly very decent. Much better than the taxis I've taken elsewhere.

Partly because the roads are less congested, even in the heart of Tokyo, since so many take the train. I never found myself wishing I could take an Uber in Japan -- a taxi was always there when I needed it... and that was only if I wasn't near a train station, which was almost never.

Re: Uber's Failure in Japan

#15

Post by yummyfajitas »

kizza wrote: post #2

I think in many countries companies like Uber and AirBnB are seen to be a challenge to the democratic will of the people. It should be no surprise that we don't care very much for this! I wonder if Uber could have achieved success in markets with more trusted governments (Germany, Japan) if they started with a softer approach.

I think in many countries the freedom to engage in gay sex is seen to be a challenge to the democratic will of the people. It should be no surprise that we don't care very much for this!

Those of us who are less democratic and more individualistic recognize how horrible it is when democracy prevents consenting adults from engaging in harmless private activities. The tyranny of the majority is still tyranny.

Also, "democratic will of the people" cannot exist: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrow%27s_impossibility_theore...

Re: Uber's Failure in Japan

#16

Post by 2bitencryption »

jj1bdx wrote: post #13

I think Uber's failure in Japan means the failures in Tokyo downtown and other large cities like Osaka. In those cities you don't have to wait much to pick the cars up. It's not the same like in SF. Discovering a niche market for Uber in Japanese large cities might be difficult.

Yeah, Japan does not really have the problem that Uber is supposed to solve. At least, not to the degree that we have in the US.

EDIT: however, I did see TONS of AirBnB (or the like) in Japan. Temporary housing is certainly a problem they DO have (at least in the cities)... perhaps even more than western nations...

Re: Uber's Failure in Japan

#17

Post by ben_jones »

blisse wrote: post #7
kizza wrote: post #2

I think in many countries companies like Uber and AirBnB are seen to be a challenge to the democratic will of the people. It should be no surprise that we don't care very much for this! I wonder if Uber could have achieved success in markets with more trusted governments (Germany, Japan) if they started with a softer approach.

Really? I find that most people think it's the other way around, that Uber and AirBnB represent the democratic will of the people, challenging broken systems that the people do not endorse now that a better idea is available. At least, that's how it looks over in USA/Canada.

I've always dislike the idea that "people vote with their dollars" because theirs no way people "voted" that all their dollars go to a 1% of individuals, who strictly speaking are rarely model or even popular citizens (.i.e. the Walton family).

Re: Uber's Failure in Japan

#18

Post by Barrin92 »

blisse wrote: post #7
kizza wrote: post #2

I think in many countries companies like Uber and AirBnB are seen to be a challenge to the democratic will of the people. It should be no surprise that we don't care very much for this! I wonder if Uber could have achieved success in markets with more trusted governments (Germany, Japan) if they started with a softer approach.

Really? I find that most people think it's the other way around, that Uber and AirBnB represent the democratic will of the people, challenging broken systems that the people do not endorse now that a better idea is available. At least, that's how it looks over in USA/Canada.

Here in Germany companies like Uber are largely perceived exactly as the author points it out, especially this stuck out in the article:

>Their significant price advantage comes from the fact that they choose to ignore a great many laws and regulations that their competition must follow. Airbnb hosts routinely ignore zoning laws, hotel taxes, safety regulations and insurance requirements. Most Uber drivers do not have taxi or chauffeur licenses, obtain commercial insurance, pass safely inspections or comply with ADA regulations.

In my opinion Uber is nothing but a business that makes money by shifting every responsibility that an employer should hold on the drivers who function as pseudo self-employed individuals while Uber rakes in a quick buck. A business that any nation can do without. Companies need to be able to be held reliable to regulations and standards. Uber's whole model is incompatible with this.

Re: Uber's Failure in Japan

#20

Post by apsec112 »

"In fact, there is a school of thought in the West that when the fines are cheaper than the cost of compliance, it is not only OK to break that law, but that the CEO has a fiduciary duty to break the law."

This claim seems absurd. Fiduciary duty is a legal concept, and for obvious reasons, there can never be a legal obligation to break the law. Americans might think it's ethically OK for corporations to break some laws. But a claim that a CEO had violated legal duties to shareholders by not breaking the law would get instantly laughed out of court.

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