Monet Technologies, the autonomous vehicle venture led by SoftBank Corp and Toyota Motor, unveiled plans to launch Level 2 autonomous driving on public roads in three areas of Tokyo by end-March 2025.

In a statement, SoftBank said the mobility service will use two Toyota Sienna minivans in a district Tokyo’s metropolitan government has designated to encourage social acceptance of autonomous driving.

Level 2 automation is able to control steering, acceleration and braking, while a human sits in the driver’s seat in case there is a need to take over.

The general public will be able to reserve rides using the Monet app, travelling at speeds of up to 40km/h. The venture plans to allow customers to book rides with other ride-hailing apps and eventually expand the service area and number of vehicles.

In early 2023, SoftBank started autonomous driving field trials in Tokyo, with a focus on AI remote monitoring and in-vehicle operations ahead of Japan legalising Level 4 autonomy next month.

The autonomous driving operation system used for the tests is provided by US-based May Mobility. The pair entered a partnership in mid-2022 to cooperate on self-driving service using the operator’s 5G network in Japan.