Stakeholder Analysis of the Urban Carsharing Market in Tokyo, Japan

摘要

This study surveys and analyzes the characteristics of the carsharing market in Japan, focusing oncooperation among the stakeholders in the Japanese market. Twenty-three individuals from ten organizationsassociated with the carsharing industry were interviewed, including carsharing operators, rail operators, busoperators, and local and central government representatives in July to August 2010. The results show that thestakeholders recognize two types of carsharing: a primary-mode-based system and a secondary-mode-basedsystem. No carsharing operator has any plan to cooperate with the other operators currently, and the perceptionsand expectations of the operators are different from those of the national government. Although localgovernments have willingness to promote the carsharing, they find difficulties to do so because they worryabout the uncertainties regarding the effects of carsharing. Finally, this study summarizes three potential caseswhere cooperation is required among stakeholders in the urban carsharing market: (1) when poor cooperationdecreases the benefit to carsharing users; (2) when poor coordination increases the external costs from thetransportation market; and (3) when poor coordination slows down economic growth.