Kakao, South Korea`s dominant mobile messaging app and on-demand service provider, will make its taxi-hailing service available in Japan as early as by the end of this year, which would be the first step to taking its taxi-hailing service global.

Kakao announced on Monday it signed a partnership agreement with JapanTaxi, the largest taxi-hailing service provider in Japan that will allow KakaoTaxi app users to hail cabs in Japan and JapanTaxi users to book cabs in Korea.

The two are discussing technical details to implement their cross-over service, including app usage and launching date, according to Kakao. JapanTaxi is a subsidiary of Nihon Kotsu, the biggest taxi company in Tokyo, and its taxi-hailing app hit 3 million downloads in April, with its service mainly used in Tokyo and Osaka.

Launched in early 2015, Kakao Taxi became an instant hit in Korea, but with the mobile-based taxi-hailing service market fast saturating, the company has sought ways to diversify its service launching a luxury cab service and go global.

By Cho Hee-young

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