Japan green-lights minicar taxis in effort to recruit female cabbies

Approval aimed at easing driver shortages in rural areas

Taxis line up for customers in Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido prefecture. (Photo by Akitoshi Sugiura)

TOKYO -- Japan will allow kei minicars to be used as taxis starting in June, a move designed to encourage more women to sign on as taxi drivers.