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The halt is the latest to affect San
Francisco-based Uber, which is fighting bans in many countries
across the world for alleged violations including using
unlicensed drivers.
Uber's month-old Fukuoka service pays drivers who use cars
registered for personal use to ferry around passengers, a
business model that potentially violates the Road Transportation
Act, transport ministry official Hidetaka Sakai told Reuters.
Insurance for the drivers and passengers may also be an issue,
Sakai added.
Uber began operating in Tokyo in 2013, but it is registered
there as a travel agency and hails taxis or licensed drivers
with business-registered vehicles. This allows Uber to operate
in Tokyo without infringing on the Road Transportation Act.
Asked about the ban, an Uber spokeswoman said the service was
aimed at helping the city of Fukuoka collect data for its
transportation needs, and that the company was now "revising the
format for this service".
"We will continue our ongoing dialogue with the relevant
authorities to clearly communicate program details and address
any concerns," spokeswoman Evelyn Tan told Reuters by email.
Uber says it operates in 55 countries, but its rapid growth has
been accompanied by controversy.
Last week, Uber announced a free service in Seoul, its second
bid in a month to operate legally in South Korea after the
authorities indicted chief executive Travis Kalanick for the
company's alleged transport violations.
In recent weeks, Uber suspended its service in Boise, Idaho, in
the United States, filed a complaint in Europe over what it
calls unfair treatment in France and suffered a U.S. security
breach that disclosed details on 50,000 drivers.
(Writing by William Mallard; Additional reporting by Teppei
Kasai; Editing by Mark Potter and Miral Fahmy)
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