The Japanese government has partnered with Boeing, Airbus, and local firms All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines, and Toyota's Cartivator to realize its plan of making Tokyo the home of flying cars in the future. The participants had their first meeting on Aug. 29 and a project roadmap is set to release by the end of 2018.
Separately, Uber Technologies has also announced on Thursday that it is considering Japan as one of the five locations where it would initially launch its commercial flying taxis which would begin demonstrations in 2020. Operations of Uber flying taxis are set to begin in 2023 in Dallas and Los Angles and the company is still out looking for the third locations. Other countries being considered are Australia, India, Brazil, and France.
Cartivator, which is backed-up by Toyota, is currently developing a three-wheeled car called the SkyDrive that can be flown via drone technology The Japan Times reported. The company expects to test its prototype by 2019 and hoped to use it just in time for the Olympic Games 2020. Toyota has invested $382,000 for the project.
In March, Boeing said that it is getting ready to sell its flying taxis in the next decade. Airbus, on the other hand, unveiled a conceptual flying car in March 2017.
Elsewhere in the world, Japan is not alone in the flying car race. Kitty Hawk, backed by Google founder Larry Page offered test flights of its flying taxi in June. Honeywell in the United States, Lilium Aviation in Germany, Safran in France, Rolls-Royce in Britain, as well as Volkswagen, and China's Geely are all eyeing the technology.
While these companies are seemingly prioritizing the market benefits of the technology if they positioned themselves ahead in the race, Japan has nobler intentions behind its pursuit of flying cars. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said that Japan needs to modernize its transport infrastructure and give it the futuristic vibe to attract more of its citizens to stay in the country or those in other nations to come back to the country.
Japan is concerned about its aging population without sufficient generation to replace them soon, the governor said as quoted by Nikkei Asia Review. By the time that the last generation of its postwar baby boomers reached 75 in 2025, Tokyo's population will start to decline.
Aside from this, trade ministry, Shinji Tokumasu said his country sees flying cars as the answer to solving transportation issues in Japan's remotest islands or mountainous regions. Flying cars will also be necessary during rescue operations in times of disaster. After all these issues are addressed, that is the only time that the country will look into making the technology profitable in the world market.
