The minimum fare for taxi rides in Tokyo and Kanagawa was increased for the first time in a decade on Monday, from 660 yen to 710 yen.

The hike is aimed at improving the labor conditions of taxi drivers as well as making up for the rise in fuel prices. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has also decided to approve the taxi-fare hike in 30 other districts.

The base fare was raised in Tokyo's 23 wards, Musashino and Mitaka cities and the Tama district, as well as Yokohama and Kawasaki in Kanagawa Prefecture, for the first time since 1997 following the consumption tax hike.

More than 90 percent of taxi companies in Tokyo, as well as 90 percent of individual taxis, raised their fares.

Under the new fare system, 90 yen is added to the base fare per 288 meters in Tokyo. (The old rate was 80 yen per 274 meters.) The additional charge for early morning and late-night hours is 20 percent between 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m., while the previous rate was 30 percent between 11:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m.

A 71-year-old unemployed man from Kokubunji, Tokyo, said on Monday, "Will it really improve the lives of taxi drivers? The hike is tough for us because we don't have an income." The man told the Mainichi in front of JR Tokyo Station that he was waiting for a taxi to go to a hospital.

A 49-year-old housewife from Nagoya gave an opposing opinion. "It is better than having less qualified drivers. We expect services that are worth the extra price," she said.

At a taxi depot in Tokyo's Koto-ku, workers were busy replacing the old price signs with new ones on 13 taxis that had returned from driving late at night.

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