|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
SkyDrive, a leading eVTOL (*1) aircraft manufacturer based in Japan, together with a consortium led bye VTOL Implementation Project Phase I Nomura Real Estate Development Co., Ltd., has announced the selection of its joint proposal for the “eVTOL Implementation Project (Phase I) ” by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. The consortium includes ANA Holdings Inc., East Japan Railway Company, Aero Toyota Corporation, Seibu Holdings Inc., and Nikken Sekkei Ltd. The project will utilize aircraft from both SkyDrive and a consortium partner, Joby Aviation, Inc., for various use cases.
In this Project, we aim for implementation across multiple use cases by leveraging the distinct uniqueness of the SkyDrive and Joby aircrafts. We plan to conduct feasibility studies for potential vertiport locations, develop these sites based on the findings, enhance social acceptance through mock-up exhibitions and public open house events, and select final vertiport locations from Fiscal Year 2028 onward, with an eye toward commercialization in urban areas.
Through these initiatives, we will strengthen urban functions via the early implementation of eVTOLs within Tokyo and communicate the blueprint for next-generation mobility to the world.
１．Background and Overview of the Project
eVTOLs are highly anticipated as a technology that will revolutionize the movement of people and goods—by avoiding traffic congestion and enabling rapid material transport—which will not only enhance people’s Quality of Life (QOL) but also contribute to improving the attractiveness and global presence of the city.
In the “2050 Tokyo Strategy (*2),” the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has specified the “refinement of the roadmap” and the “establishment of an implementation scheme (implementation project) (*3) ” as concrete steps toward the social implementation of eVTOLs, with the goal of implementation in urban areas by 2030. However, achieving this requires solving various challenges, including enhancing public acceptance, examining technical issues such as airspace management, and ensuring consistency with urban planning.
To resolve these challenges and facilitate the early implementation of eVTOLs in Tokyo, this Project aims to conduct demonstration flights in the coastal and river areas within Fiscal Year 2026, followed by pre-commercial service implementation within Fiscal Year 2027.
２．Project structure
- Lead Company：Nomura Real Estate Development Co., Ltd.
- Consortium Companies：ANA Holdings Inc. / SkyDrive Inc. / East Japan Railway Company / Nikken Sekkei Ltd. / Aero Toyota Corporation / Seibu Holdings Inc.
- Cooperative Partners：Joby Aviation, Inc. / Haneda Future Development Co., Ltd.
３．Member Companies
Nomura Real Estate Development Co., Ltd.
[Head Office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Daisaku Matsuo]Nomura Real Estate is a comprehensive real estate company engaged in development and operations across residential, urban, and overseas sectors. In collaboration with East Japan Railway Company, Nomura Real Estate boasts an extensive track record in the Tokyo bay area and is promoting a large-scale mixed-use redevelopment project “BLUE FRONT SHIBAURA” comprised of twin towers (TOWER S: completed in February 2025, TOWER N: scheduled for completion in 2030) as part of the reconstruction of the Hamamatsucho Building (formerly Toshiba Building), which will rise to a height of about 230 meters. In addition, various initiatives are underway in cooperation with neighboring areas to further revitalize Tokyo’s bay area.
Under the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s “Tokyo Bay eSG Project” as one of the FY2023 Advanced Projects initiated from 2023, our efforts have included advancing a floating port for flying cars and implementing multi-modal MaaS integrating land, sea, and air transportation systems.
ANA Holdings
[Head Office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Koji Shibata]In August 2025, we commenced full-scale consideration with Joby Aviation, Inc. to establish a joint venture aimed at providing air taxi services in Japan. Adhering to the highest safety standards developed by the ANA Group, we plan to launch a safe, comfortable, and rapid air taxi service for daily use by many people, focusing initially on urban areas within Japan, beginning with the Tokyo metropolitan area. In the future, we aim to deploy more than 100 aircraft and expand the service throughout Japan.
SkyDrive Inc.
[Head Office: Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture; CEO: Tomohiro Fukuzawa]Founded in July 2018 with the mission of “leading the once-in-a-century mobility revolution,” SkyDrive is developing eVTOLs primarily based in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, to realize a future where “the sky is used for daily travel.” Manufacturing has commenced at a Suzuki Group factory in Iwata City, Shizuoka Prefecture. The company is involved in regulatory framework design as a member of the Public-Private Council, successfully conducted Japan’s first public manned flight test in 2020, and performed a demonstration flight at the Osaka-Kansai Expo in 2025. SkyDrive continues to dedicate efforts to aircraft development, aiming to launch commercial service around 2028.
East Japan Railway Company
[Head Office: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Yoichi Kise]East Japan Railway Company is committed to promoting the social implementation of “eVTOLs” as one of the mobility innovations aimed at achieving Lifestyle Transformation (LX), a goal laid out in the Group Management Vision, “To the Next Stage” 2034, announced in July this year. The company aims to establish the commercialized new air mobility services as a new venture centered on its railway operations.
Nikken Sekkei Ltd.
[Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Atsushi Omatsu]Nikken Sekkei Ltd. is a professional services firm engaged in architectural and civil engineering design and supervision, urban design, and related research, planning, and consulting services. Since its founding in 1900, the company has dedicated itself for over 120 years to value creation through “Social Environmental Design,” addressing both manifest and latent social issues to meet the demands of society and the diverse needs of its clients. It has been involved in various projects in Japan, China, ASEAN, and the Middle East, with recent expansion into India and Europe. The Skyscape Design Lab division is at the forefront of researching and proposing visions for the progressive development of cities where air mobility can maximize its potential. The division actively practices and proposes future city planning where aerial travel enriches daily life, beginning with vertiport design. In terms of regulatory development, the firm is also supporting implementation from the perspective of urban planning and architectural design as a member of the Public-Private Council for the Air Mobility Revolution.
Aero Toyota Corporation
[Head Office: Koto-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Hiroshi Kato]Since our foundation in 1955, we have developed an expansive array of social infrastructure to achieve our corporate philosophy of “To the Sky, For the Future.” We have been providing spatial information services through our geospatial information technology, one of the best in Japan, and aviation services, centered around helicopter and business jet operations. We celebrated our 70th anniversary in July 2025 and renamed our company to AERO TOYOTA CORPORATION to present our strong collaboration with Toyota Motor Corporation.
SEIBU HOLDINGS INC.
[Head Office: Toshima-ku, Tokyo; President & COO: Ryuichiro Nishiyama]Seibu Holdings Inc. is the pure holding company of the Seibu Group, established in 2006. The group is engaged in a wide range of businesses closely tied to customers’ daily lives, centered around Real Estate, Hotel and Leisure, and Urban Transportation and Railway Operations. Under the slogan, “Smiles ahead,” the Group aims to create experiences and excitement for customers, enhance the satisfaction of all stakeholders—including shareholders, employees, and local communities—and realize a prosperous and sustainable society. Based on the “Seibu Group’s Long-term Strategy to 2035” announced in May 2024, the Group is focused on “Creation of experience that stimulates the five senses” (one of its defined materialities). Through the social implementation of air mobility, which truly “stimulates the five senses,” the Group is advancing various initiatives to provide customers with new experiential value.
Joby Aviation, Inc.
[Head Office: California, USA; CEO: JoeBen Bevirt]Joby Aviation, Inc. is a company that develops electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, headquartered in California, USA. The company plans to commence air mobility services in Dubai in 2026. As a new form of air mobility, the quiet, high-speed connection between locations will help alleviate urban congestion and traffic jams, and facilitate the transition to sustainable modes of transportation. The company has expanded its bases to Santa Cruz, San Carlos, and Marina in California; Washington D.C.; and Munich, Germany, and currently employs over 2,000 people.
Haneda Future Development Co., Ltd.
[Head Office: Ota-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Hiroaki Yamaguchi]Haneda Future Development Co., Ltd. is a business entity funded by nine companies, with Kajima Corporation (hereinafter, “Kajima”) as the representative company. It is responsible for the development and operation of the large-scale mixed-use complex, “HANEDA INNOVATION CITY” (Abbreviation: HICity). HICity is Japan’s first smart airport city that realizes new value creation through various uses and facilities where diverse people can gather and interact, centered on advanced technology and cultural exchange. It also promotes initiatives that induce cross-border interaction. The company possesses achievements and expertise including “exhibition of actual eVTOLs,” long-term “robot demonstration projects” within the facility, and “regular operation of Level 4 autonomous buses” jointly with Kajima and BOLDLY. Moving forward, the company will continue to promote initiatives aimed at integrating cities and advanced technology.
