by: Naomi Tajitsu, Reuters [Excerpt]

Uber Technologies [UBER.UL] on Wednesday said it will launch a food-delivery service in Japan as it looks for new ways to enter a potentially massive market where its ride-hailing service has been blocked by regulation and opposition from taxi drivers.

The U.S. technology firm is innovating in a bid to establish its brand in Japan, although it is tight-lipped about when it expects to be able to offer ride-hailing services in the country’s major cities.

Japan is a key battleground in Uber’s plans for Asia, after it pulled out of China two months ago and as it fends off challenges from ambitious regional rivals like four-year-old Singapore-based Grab and Indonesia’s Go-Jek.

“Uber believes Japan is an important market, and if it can demonstrate success in Japan, it can go into other Asian countries with momentum,” said Brian Solis, digital analyst at Altimeter Group in San Francisco.