NAVITIME JAPAN, a navigation app provider, and Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance developed a smartphone app to reduce rent-a-car accidents by international travelers to Japan. The app will be available nationwide in the first half of fiscal year 2027.
The development of this app stems from the current situation where the number of accidents caused by a lack of understanding of traffic rules and other factors has increased with the rapid rise in the number of foreign visitors to Japan.
According to a survey by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the accident rate when using rental cars for tourism purposes is 3% for foreign visitors, significantly higher than the 0.7% for Japanese people.
In a field test in Okayama Prefecture and Hokkaido from May to September 2025, they confirmed the accident prevention effect of the app by achieving accident-free results for all 127 participating groups.
The new app is based on NAVITIME's car navigation function and includes English voice guidance and a "narrow road avoidance search" feature. It also features a "simple safe driving diagnosis" in English, Chinese, and Korean, a "traffic rule quiz" to learn Japanese traffic rules, and a voice alert function for accident-prone areas.
