2 communities, towns and cities. Safety risks: The inconvenience of fixed schedules and routes, and downscaled services due to profit losses in public transport mutually causes many people to drive despite their deteriorated physical and cognitive functions, posing potential safety risks. Reduction of ridership, transport networks and access to mobility: This set of issues are mutual reinforcing, creating a vicious cycle. Besides, barriers to accessing local services hurt the socio-economic health of communities, contributing to the collapse of communities when residents move to larger towns to gain better access to services and mobility. Driver shortages: The ageing and retirement of drivers leads to driver shortages, which further causes the bus and taxi companies to cut back on service routes. Deterioration of health and welfare: Exacerbated personal mobility decreases elderly people’s opportunities to access essential services and engage in social activities, which negatively impacts their health and well-being. Expectations about the Potential of Emerging Technologies to Tackle the Challenges Safety risks: Introduction of autonomous vehicles and MaaS is expected to reduce road accidents by making public transport more accessible and convenient, by integrating on-demand and optimised schedules, and by increasing affordability via ridesharing. Reduction of ridership, transport networks and access to mobility: Innovations are expected to halt the selfreinforcing cycle, by allowing operators to use data to optimise routes, and utilise autonomous driving to reduce driver-related expenses, and by making it easier for the elderly to access public transport and local services. Driver shortages: Self-driving technologies are expected to reduce the demand for drivers or alleviate license requirements of drivers. Deterioration of health and welfare: Respondents expect that emerging technologies will increase chances for outings and socialisation, as well as direct access to medical facilities, thereby contributing to health and wellbeing. Socio-economic conditions: It is anticipated that individual health and well-being will accumulate at the societal level, creating healthy and dynamic communities. Meanwhile, improved transportation will increase residents’ visits to local businesses and local spending. Some projects also consider that shifting from building-based to vehiclebased town halls or medical services could save money for municipalities. Study Methodology The study employs a qualitative approach, utilizing an emergent thematic content analysis. The analysis is based on data from 16 semi-structured interviews with 28 practitioners and researchers, supplemented with documentation from project actors and research organizations. The data was collected between September 2022 and March 2023. The analysis focuses on the experiences of stakeholders involved in state-supported mobility projects, specifically those using MaaS and autonomous vehicles. Table 1 summarises the goals and typical cases of each innovation. Technology Objective Description Mobility-asa-Service (MaaS) Carry individuals to a destination (medical facility, shopping district, etc.) On-demand and shared vehicles provide door-to-door transport service in regional or rural settings, using AI and app-based reservations to optimise route selection and scheduling (location of example case: Maebashi City in Gunma Prefecture). Bring vehicle-based services to the individual Medical MaaS: Vans equipped with medical equipment and a nurse visit elderly persons at the domicile, providing online doctor consultations and a basic medical check-up (Ina City in Nagano Prefecture, Taki Town in Mie Prefecture). Town-hall MaaS: Vans equipped with public administration equipment visit a fixed point in a rural or regional setting, providing services usually conducted in the town hall, such as issuing residence certificates or social security numbers (Iwaki City in Fukushima Prefecture, Shonai Town in Yamagata Prefecture). Autonomous vehicles Partially or completely replace human drivers in shared vehicles Self-driving carts provide ondemand and door-to-door ridesharing services in suburban housing estates (Kasugai City in Aichi Prefecture, Nagano City in Osaka Prefecture). Self-driving buses serve fixed routes in the commercial centre of a regional city according to a predetermined schedule (Sakai City, Ibaraki Prefecture). Findings and Analysis Interlinked Mobility Problems Caused by Population Ageing Interviews reveal that Japan’s ageing and shrinking population is causing mobility problems for three main groups: elderly people, transport providers and municipalities. Figure 1 shows how these problems are connected and self-reinforcing, which collectively exerts a negative impact on the socio-economic vitality of Key models of next-generation mobility services under trial in Japan Table 1 Leveraging Emerging Technologies to Overcome Mobility Challenges Caused by Population Ageing: A Case Study of Japan Public Policy BULLETIN
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