The United Kingdom's self-driving startup Wayve announced on April 22 that it set up a testing and development center in Japan.

The British startup began collecting driving data in Japan by operating vehicles equipped with cameras and radar in Tokyo and Yokohama.

Wayve has previously trained its AI using driving data from the UK, the United States and Germany.

The company aims to train its system in driving scenarios unique to Japan such as navigating narrow streets and avoiding utility poles and bicycles, so it can enable the smooth deployment of autonomous driving technology.

Wayve is already in partnership with Nissan, which has announced plans to launch vehicles equipped with the startup’s technology in fiscal year 2027.

Wayve aims to expand its partnerships while it establishes fully autonomous driving technology that requires no human driver.

Waymo, which operates self-driving taxis in the US, also began collecting driving data in Tokyo last week.