TOKYO, Jan. 25 -- Japan has quietly welcomed its first robotaxis as Waymo's autonomous taxis have been zipping around the capital city without fanfare

They aren't available on an app yet, and no one is saying when ordinary passengers will be able to hail one, The Japan Times reported today.

"It's likely that the government wants to see what can be called Japan's first robotaxis by 2027," Mai Niizoe, a Tokyo-based researcher, was quoted as saying.

The testing is being run by taxi company Nihon Kotsu and Waymo, Google's self-driving arm, but details are scarce.

According to the news report, Japan has been cautious in adopting driverless taxis compared to China and the United States, where autonomous cars are already operating in multipl...