Akihabara News (Tokyo) — UK-based Skyports, a firm aiming to become a leader in the vertiport industry, has announced the opening of a Tokyo office.
This follows the announcement last month of the appointment of Atsushi Okada, who has a background in urban design and smart city development, as the firm’s Japan country manager.
Yun-Yuan Tay, the Asia-Pacific head for Skyports, stated, “The Asia-Pacific region is an important hub for advanced air mobility, and Japan a leading market within it. With support from our investor Kanematsu Corporation, we have significantly matured our networks and portfolio in the country in the last year with multiple projects in progress. The incorporation of our Japanese office was the next logical step in strengthening our operations in the country.”
New Tokyo head Okada added that “Japan will play an important role in the future of advanced air mobility–the next big innovation for the transport and logistics sector. For Skyports, the focus for the next year is to progress our ongoing projects in Osaka and Tokyo through site assessments and regular engagements with the regulatory authorities as we look towards 2025 for initial deployment.”
The partnership between Skyports and the Tokyo-based Kanematsu Corporation has been deepening for several years. The two firms began their collaboration in 2020, and since then their links have become increasingly intimate.
In August, it was announced that Kanematsu, together with the Sumitomo Corporation, were leaders in Skyports’ US$26 million Series B investment round.
Aside from Japan, this business alliance is also quite active in the Singapore market, where drone delivery operations are being jointly developed. This is also where Skyports’ Asia-Pacific head office is located.
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