Context: I booked an Uber ride from Akiba Kart Shinsekai.
Immediately I hop in, all hell breaks loose once the Uber driver realizes I’m not Japanese.
Note: I’m Vietnamese-Mexican American from Los Angeles, but look more Vietnamese.
This was my email to Uber after a horrific experience with the racist Japanese Uber driver:
Me: “My driver was going over 100 kilometers per hour on city streets – and he hit the brakes very hard so that I could feel my body jumping from the seat. He even yelled at me and told me to get out of the car and walk. He said something in Japanese that I didn't understand. I did not reply, or choose to use Google Translate. I just got out of the car quickly.
My driver told me he would not use Uber Maps. He said he would use Google Maps and take a different route. I was very scared the whole trip.”
Uber’s Response:
“SUBMITTED
My Driver Drove Dangerously
Taxi . Friday, January 5, 2024 at 5:30:34 PM
Thank you for reaching out and providing us with this information, Adam.
Sawada here from the Uber Incident Response Team.
As a result of your report, I will be following up with the driver-partner to determine whether the driver-partner will continue to have access to the app.
We are committed to ensuring that when a driver partners with Uber, or a rider uses Uber, we do everything we can to not put that person in a position that makes them uncomfortable, unsafe or legally compromised.
Meanwhile, we have taken steps to avoid recurrence of this incident, such that you will not meet the driver again on your future rides with Uber.
We have also applied JPY 500 Uber Cash that can be used for your next Uber Eats order or Uber ride in Japan.
Please feel free to reach out should you have any further questions.”
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Seems insufficient as far as the response and actions are concerned.
Be careful with Uber male drivers, especially if you are a Male Foreigner in Japan, going anywhere Alone.
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Note: He looks like he’s in his early 30s, and his name on Uber is “Kazuya和也.”
❤️ from LA.
by No-Fly-4182
6 comments
What did u want them to do? Seemed like a decent response to me.
Uber in Japan are just taxis btw.
Yep everything is racism.
Clearly just waited , could not sleep with excitement until a gaijin got in so he could break the speed limit
I lived in Osaka for 5 years and used the taxi countless times.
As I speak Japanese I usually have the best time on my rides with the mostly old dudes.
I must say tough that I also had some bad experiences with some most likely anti-foreigner behaviour.
So I would say 8/10 times good.
And as another person commented, uber in Japan are normal taxi drivers.
(But I read somewhere that this will change in 2024)
Edit:
Not once in my life I had a careless driver in Japan tough, which I can not say from my home country
Just because you are a different race from another person doesn’t mean everything they do around you is racism.
The driver was driving aggressively and you got refunded the money you spent on a bad drive. I hate uber but this response is perfectly fine.
Also, trying to doxx this guy and get people on your hate train is absolutely childish. Maybe Japan isn’t for you.
All that to tell us that you went on a stupid Kart tour of Osaka.
Go ahead and downvote me.. I hate those go-kart tours. So stupid. Everyone looks like idiots riding around in them. I would rather get a ride from that Uber driver and see Osaka at 100Kph then ride though Amera-mura waving my hand around like a dumbass in a dirty “Mario” onesie.