The Ministry of Transport wants to help start using aerial vehicles by funding the building of the first vertiports in the country. They will cover half the cost, up to JPY 50 million (about USD 313,500) for each vertiport. Local governments and businesses will build these vertiports, which will be used for air taxis to take off and land.
After these vertiports are built, the ministry will review them and use what they learn to create standards for future vertiports. They aim to have these new guidelines ready by April 2026. To begin, the ministry will select four locations through a competitive process ending July 12. Both local governments and private companies can apply. They will be responsible for building, managing, and operating the vertiports.
Each vertiport will include areas for takeoff and landing, taxiways, parking, hangars, charging stations, and waiting lounges for passengers. The construction should be finished by the end of 2024, with trial flights starting the next year. After they are built, each vertiport will collect data on how it operates to find out what works well and needs improvement. This information will help create new guidelines for designing vertiports, including the best layouts and sizes for hangars and passenger lounges.
Flying cars, or electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicles, have many potential uses, such as emergency medical transport, travel to remote islands and mountains, and urban taxi services.
