OSAKA - Osaka Metro Co. is pressing ahead with facial-recognition ticket gates despite weak demand, with just 24,000 people buying tickets for the system in about 18 months on a network carrying an average of 2.5 million passengers a day.
The operator installed the gates at 130 of its 134 stations in March last year ahead of the World Exposition in Osaka, taking the lead among railway operators in introducing the technology on a large scale.
But advance registration requirements, limited ticket options and the convenience of existing transit cards have given passengers little incentive to switch.
At Umeda Station, part of western Japan's busiest railway hub, this reporter counted just five people using the facial-recognition gates during an hour of observation on the evening of Oct. 6.
Shoppers and passengers changing trains streamed through the Midosuji Line's north ticket gate. Queues formed at conventional gates as passengers avoided the facial-recognition lanes.
Some complained that the new gates were positioned in the middle of the gate area, obstructing their path. Others questioned why they could not use their usual transit cards.
For Kyoko Yamanaka, a 59-year-old part-time worker from Osaka's Naniwa Ward, registering a facial image offered little appeal.
"I'm uneasy about registering a photo of my face, and I don't see any reason to use it," she said. "Do we really need these gates?"
Osaka Metro hopes to attract overseas visitors to the system, but the app passengers must use to register their facial images is available only in Japanese.
Existing transit IC cards also offer a level of convenience that some passengers see little need to improve on.
"My ICOCA card is convenient enough," said Takatsugu Nakatsuka, a 21-year-old university student from Katano, Osaka Prefecture. "I don't plan to use facial recognition."
The range of tickets available is another drawback. The system mainly supports passes valid for set periods, such as one day or 30 days, but does not accommodate regular commuter passes.
Osaka Metro said it was considering whether to add support for commuter passes, citing challenges including substantial development costs.
Other railway operators are exploring facial recognition, although none has introduced it on Osaka Metro's scale.
Tobu Railway Co. installed a gate at Tobu-Utsunomiya Station in May, becoming the first major private railway operator to do so.
East Japan Railway Co. tested the technology between November last year and March at locations including Niigata Station on the Joetsu Shinkansen line. West Japan Railway Co. is conducting trials at Osaka Station.
An Osaka Metro executive said the company needed to explore new approaches to ticket gates. The operator has also faced a series of problems with electric buses introduced for the Expo.
Despite the slow uptake, Osaka Metro plans to install facial-recognition gates at its remaining stations. Its medium-term management plan, announced on Sept. 30, calls for installation across the network by the end of fiscal 2027.
"At the moment, the system hasn't expanded beyond our own subway network," President Keiji Kakumoto told a news conference that day. "We want to build momentum and work with other companies."
