Akihabara News (Tokyo) — The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has selected several companies to implement a three-year project aimed at preparing the Japanese capital for its first eVTOL taxi services.
The companies selected by the metropolitan government are Mitsubishi Estate, Japan Airlines (JAL), and Kanematsu Corporation.
These firms have received the mandate to develop a practical business model for the launch of eVTOL taxi services in Tokyo, as well as to identify the key hurdles to implementation. This includes cost estimates and other economic dimensions related to air taxi services.
Mitsubishi Estate, which owns most of the Marunouchi financial district adjoining Tokyo Station and the Imperial Palace, will be the primary project manager, offering its property to host experiments. JAL will take charge of feasibility studies and the planning of demonstration flights. Kanematsu will provide information on overseas technologies and regulatory trends, as well as work on vertiport development.
Between April 2023 and March 2024, the consortium plans to begin demonstration experiments using helicopters within the metropolitan area. Thereafter it will switch to eVTOLs–though the make and model is undecided.
When the three-year project ends in March 2025, the commercial eVTOL taxi industry is expected to begin soon thereafter, and any additional public funding from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government will be reconsidered at that time.
It has been the Osaka Prefectural Government which has been most proactive about the development of Japan’s eVTOL industry. The 2025 World Expo in Osaka is expected to become the stage for the birth of domestic eVTOL taxi services. The expo is scheduled to open on April 13, 2025, and continue for about six months.
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