Japan's transport ministry has abolished the requirement for taxi drivers to display their name and photograph in their vehicles.

The change that came into effect this month is aimed at preventing the posting of their personal information online.

Taxi drivers used to have to display their photo ID to show that they are the authorized driver and not an impostor.

But there have been cases when dissatisfied passengers took a picture of the driver's ID card without permission and uploaded it to a social-networking site.

The ministry wants to ensure a safe work environment for drivers and ease the labor shortage in the transportation industry.

Passengers will still be able to identify a vehicle by the driver number or the receipt if they left something behind and need to contact the operator.