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Tokyo Metropolitan Government Selects 2 Teams for “Flying Car” Project Led by Japan Airlines and Nomura Real Estate Development

Coutesy of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government / ©Archer Aviation Inc.
The “Midnight” used by the JAL consortium

Coutesy of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government / ©SkyDrive Inc.
The “SD-05” used by the Nomura Real Estate consortium

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:09 JST, October 25, 2025

Two teams have been selected to implement Tokyo’s “flying car” project – one comprising nine companies including Japan Airlines Co. and another comprising seven companies including Nomura Real Estate Development Co.

With flights over Tokyo’s coastal areas and the Tama River in mind, demonstration flights will be conducted within the next fiscal year, aiming for the start of partial commercial operations in fiscal year 2027. Full commercialization within Tokyo’s urban areas is targeted for fiscal 2030.

The JAL group of nine companies includes Sumitomo Corp., Taisei Corp. and Keio Corp., and it plans to use aircraft from Archer Aviation Inc. The Nomura Real Estate Development group of seven companies includes ANA Holdings Inc., East Japan Railway Co. and Seibu Holdings Inc., and it will use aircraft from SkyDrive Inc. based in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, and Joby Aviation Inc.