Hiroshi Nakatsuka aims to speed self-driving rollout in Japan

Nakatsuka's comments come about a year after the Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party struck a coalition agreement. He said the partnership has entered "a new stage," with cooperation expanding to the Cabinet level, and that he wants to implement policies while sharing responsibility with the LDP. That political backdrop may shape how far his reform push can go.

Nakatsuka, who also serves as minister for policies related to children, said the JIP is expected to break new ground and has been given the mission of driving reforms forward. On self-driving and ride-hailing, he pointed to resistance that tends to emerge when a system is changed, suggesting the path to looser rules may not be smooth. The planned panel on transportation services could be an early test of how the coalition handles such friction.