Skyports has opened a branch office in Tokyo, Japan – the first in the region outside of its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Singapore.
The move follows a year of significant activity in the country, with Japanese trading conglomerate Kanematsu Corporation joining Skyports’ list of investors in the company’s Series B funding round and taking a seat on its board in March, as well as a growing portfolio of projects in Osaka and Tokyo.
Earlier in July, Skyports partnered with AirAsia to explore the development of air taxi infrastructure in Malaysia.
Tay Yun-Yuan, head of Asia-Pacific, Skyports said: “The Asia-Pacific region is an important hub for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM), and Japan a leading market within it. With support from our investor Kanematsu Corporation, we have significantly matured our networks and portfolio in the country in the last year with multiple projects in progress.
“The incorporation of our Japanese office was the next logical step in strengthening our operations in the country, enabling us to work closely with the growing ecosystem of AAM players as we approach new milestones in the country.”
Atsushi Okada, Skyports’ Japan country manager, shared: “For Skyports, the focus for the next year is to progress our ongoing projects in Osaka and Tokyo through site assessments and regular engagements with the regulatory authorities as we look towards 2025 for initial deployment.”
Okada will oversee Skyports’ infrastructure and drone services operations in the country, and lead an extensive list of priorities including real estate agreements, local stakeholder engagement, regulatory approvals, airport and airspace planning, operational procedures, and enabling technology.
