Uber Eats Japan begins deliveries with self-driving robots

Uber Eats Japan on Wednesday began using self-driving robots for deliveries in Tokyo, a new venture aimed at making the service more efficient amid the country's ongoing labor shortage. The robots are currently used for two stores -- Tonkatsu Aoki and Benihana Annex -- in Tokyo's Nihonbashi area, but the company hopes to roll them out in more areas. They are being used for deliveries between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays. Japan is now the second country in the world where Uber Eats, the food delivery service of ride-hailing company Uber Technologies, operates delivery robots. The company began using them in the United States in 2022.