Spinning the Wheels of Mobility with PARK24

Before starting the interview, I’d like to touch on the changes in mobility in Japan. Over the past three years, the way people move has changed significantly. Especially among younger generations—including myself and Sasha—there is a growing tendency to use car-sharing and related services instead of owning private cars. Questions such as how mobility should be provided, how to introduce new services, and how sustainable those models are have long been central themes in shaping society. While ensuring convenience for younger people, we also face the challenge of addressing mobility difficulties in rural areas amid an aging population. So my first question is about recent changes in cities. Japan went through what’s often called its “lost three decades,” but even so, there have been major changes. Among young people, the trend of not owning cars and instead using sharing services has expanded, while in rural areas, aging populations are making mobility access increasingly difficult. Given this situation, how do you think demand for mobility services will change over the next decade? In particular, what changes do you foresee in response to both the younger generation and the aging society?

The decline of public transportation in rural areas is, in my view, a very serious issue. At this stage, there are no decisive or highly effective solutions. Looking ahead, I believe that without the realization of fully autonomous vehicles, it will be difficult to find a fundamental solution. Currently, our company is proactively deploying car-sharing vehicles in these regions, but drivers are still required. Some local governments have their municipal employees drive elderly residents to hospitals, but due to labor shortages, there are clear limits.

That is precisely why achieving autonomous driving is essential. We are preparing for that future by building a Central Control Center (CCC) to manage service monitoring and remote control in an integrated manner. I’ve heard that a major domestic taxi company will begin joint autonomous driving trials this autumn with a foreign tech company, which just shows how fast overseas players are moving. From a sustainability standpoint, transitioning to EVs and realizing robotaxis will also be indispensable.

Central Control Center (CCC)  

I’d now like to ask about your company’s history and the evolution of its services. Even before researching for this interview, I was familiar with the Times brand—not only in Japan but internationally as well. However, I must admit I didn’t fully understand your company’s influence in sustainability. Could you tell us how your company came to be recognized not just as a leader in mobility services but also as an environmental innovator? How did that identity take shape?

To be honest, we didn’t consciously prioritize building an identity. Rather, it emerged naturally as an extension of our business activities. Our consistent focus has been on increasing the number of parking spaces. A shortage of parking causes cars to circle around busy areas or train stations in search of a spot—a phenomenon known as “cruising congestion.” This worsens traffic and increases CO₂ emissions. By creating more parking spaces, we can alleviate this problem and contribute to emission reduction.

From a sustainability perspective, that in itself carries great value. That’s why we’ve continued to build as many parking lots as possible. In addition, this year we launched a joint study with Oita University to measure how much car sharing contributes to reducing overall CO₂ emissions in society (avoided emissions). In the future, we also hope to study how much a single new parking lot can help reduce emissions.

Is that research limited to Japan, or do you plan to expand it overseas in the future?

For now, it’s limited to Japan.

Times CAR, car sharing service

Let’s move on to your Medium-Term Management Plan. You’ve set ambitious goals, such as expanding the Times CAR fleet to over 100,000 vehicles. Within that effort, what do you see as the highest priority—or the most difficult challenge?

The clear numerical target we’ve made public is expanding the Times CAR fleet to 100,000 vehicles. I believe this is fully achievable, and there’s potential and market demand to grow even to 200,000 vehicles.

Currently, most of our vehicles are hybrids or fuel-efficient models, while EVs number only about 240. The main reason is charging time. Compared to gasoline cars, EVs can’t be rented out while charging, which lowers utilization rates. Installing fast chargers costs roughly as much as two hybrid cars, which makes it economically challenging.

Therefore, at present, we focus on hybrids and fuel-efficient vehicles to help reduce CO₂ emissions. But in the future, we aim to shift to zero-emission vehicles. The key will be reducing EV costs. How far prices drop will directly affect our speed of adoption.

This creates a dilemma. We are acutely aware that automobiles are a major source of CO₂ and want to help reduce them, but in reality, we depend heavily on automakers’ technological advances, and there’s only so much we can do on our own.

What we can do is make EVs more accessible and convenient through our car-sharing services as EV adoption gradually increases across Japan, encouraging consumers to choose them and thereby raising the proportion of EVs in our fleet. In this way, we can contribute to reducing CO₂ emissions.

Times PARKING

Thank you. This final business-related question touches on an important part of your strategy. Your company is building a mobility platform that aggregates data and centralizes operational expertise. How do you plan to develop this platform going forward, and what impact do you think it will ultimately have on the mobility industry’s ecosystem?

In both parking and car-sharing operations, we take pride in our system—TONIC (Times Online Network & Information Center)—as being the most advanced in Japan. Until now, we have used it exclusively for our own operations, but beginning next fiscal year, that is, from November 2025, we will begin fully offering it externally as the Times PLATFORM SERVICE (TPL).

Our business partners will then be able to operate parking and car-sharing services with the same level of quality as we do. Through this, we aim to make our system the de facto standard for parking and car-sharing operations across Japan.

That’s wonderful. Finally, I have two more personal questions. This year marks your company’s 54th anniversary, and next year will be the 55th. If I were to interview you again six years from now, for the 60th anniversary, what dream or goal would you hope to have achieved by then?

Six years from now, I am confident we will have achieved our goal of 100,000 mobility vehicles. Our target for parking spaces is one million, though that might take a little longer than six years. However, as I mentioned earlier, the CCC (Central Control Center) will certainly be completed by then. If autonomous vehicles have become widespread in Japan by that time, I believe that—even if not all 100,000—some of them will already be operating as robotaxis.

How would you describe your company in a single sentence to that audience?

We are Japan’s largest mobility services platform operator.

For more information, visit their website at: https://park24.co.jp/