Rental Car Accident Reduction App for Foreign Visitors to Be Offered During FY2026
Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance and Navitime Japan will start offering a rental car accident reduction app for foreign visitors during FY2026. A pilot program showed all participants had no accidents, aiming to reduce accidents related to the increasing number of foreign visitors using rental cars.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 9, 2026 at 20:30
- 🔍 Collected: April 9, 2026 at 12:00
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 20, 2026 at 09:10 (261h 9m after Collected)
MS&AD Insurance Group's Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance Co., Ltd. (CEO: Keisuke Niino, hereinafter "Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance") and Navitime Japan Co., Ltd. (CEO: Keisuke Onishi, hereinafter "Navitime Japan") have developed a smartphone app to reduce rental car accidents for foreign visitors (hereinafter the "Rental Car Accident Reduction App") and will sequentially offer it to rental car businesses starting in FY2026. A nationwide rollout is planned for the first half of FY2027.
Both companies conducted a demonstration experiment (hereinafter the "Demonstration") in Okayama Prefecture and Hokkaido from May to September 2025, utilizing a "Rental Car version NexT App" based on the app for policyholders of the telematics auto insurance "Tough - My Car's Guardian Insurance NexT*1". This demonstration aimed to reduce rental car accidents for foreign visitors, and it was confirmed that all rental car users participating in this demonstration remained accident-free throughout their usage period.
1. Background
In recent years, the number of foreign visitors to Japan has surged, with 2025 recording a record high of 42.68 million tourists*2. On the other hand, accidents due to driving in unfamiliar areas and insufficient understanding of traffic rules are increasing*3 in conjunction with rental car use by foreign visitors. According to a survey by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the accident rate for rental car use by tourists is as high as 3.0%, compared to 0.7% for Japanese drivers*4.
Based on this situation, both companies developed the "Rental Car version NexT App," which integrates safety driving support and car navigation functions, and conducted a demonstration experiment.
As a result of the demonstration experiment, it was confirmed that the "Rental Car version NexT App" is sufficiently effective in preventing traffic accidents. Therefore, we will begin offering the "Rental Car Accident Reduction App" to rental car businesses during FY2026.
Both companies conducted a demonstration experiment (hereinafter the "Demonstration") in Okayama Prefecture and Hokkaido from May to September 2025, utilizing a "Rental Car version NexT App" based on the app for policyholders of the telematics auto insurance "Tough - My Car's Guardian Insurance NexT*1". This demonstration aimed to reduce rental car accidents for foreign visitors, and it was confirmed that all rental car users participating in this demonstration remained accident-free throughout their usage period.
1. Background
In recent years, the number of foreign visitors to Japan has surged, with 2025 recording a record high of 42.68 million tourists*2. On the other hand, accidents due to driving in unfamiliar areas and insufficient understanding of traffic rules are increasing*3 in conjunction with rental car use by foreign visitors. According to a survey by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the accident rate for rental car use by tourists is as high as 3.0%, compared to 0.7% for Japanese drivers*4.
Based on this situation, both companies developed the "Rental Car version NexT App," which integrates safety driving support and car navigation functions, and conducted a demonstration experiment.
As a result of the demonstration experiment, it was confirmed that the "Rental Car version NexT App" is sufficiently effective in preventing traffic accidents. Therefore, we will begin offering the "Rental Car Accident Reduction App" to rental car businesses during FY2026.