TOYOTA, Japan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 1, 2026--
Building on its successful demonstration flights at the Expo 2025 Osaka, SkyDrive Inc. (“SkyDrive”), a leading Japanese compact eVTOL (*1) developer, announced it will launch a feasibility study to repurpose existing rooftop emergency landing sites in Osaka City as eVTOL vertiports. This project, part of the Cabinet Office's Super City Initiative, will be conducted with collaborating partners including Chodai Co. Ltd., Kansai Electric Power Co. Inc., and Organization of Airport Facilitation.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260930983562/en/
Unlike the global eVTOL market's primary focus on inter-city transport between major airports and suburban heliports, SkyDrive aims to make daily intra-city travel accessible using compact, quiet, and agile aircraft. This initiative represents a major milestone toward establishing eVTOLs as a practical, everyday transit option in central Osaka.
Key Project Activities
The project will conduct a phased evaluation to determine the viability and prospects of repurposing existing building rooftop emergency landing zones in Osaka City into operational vertiports for eVTOL aircraft, focusing on the following core areas:
Structure and Roles
Background and Objective
Following their collaboration at the Expo 2025 Osaka (*3), SkyDrive and Osaka Metro are working toward the commercial launch of eVTOL services by approximately 2028 within Osaka Prefecture and Osaka City, areas recognized by the Cabinet Office as "Super City National Strategic Special Zones" (*4) for their commitment to an "optimally mobile society" through advanced technology. A significant obstacle to the widespread adoption of this next-generation mobility is the scarcity of vertiport hubs. Establishing new takeoff and landing sites from the ground up is particularly impractical in dense urban centers where available open space is severely limited.
Currently, Osaka City contains 146 rooftop "emergency landing sites" (marked with an H), primarily on buildings over 100 meters tall as required by local fire safety regulations. While these sites constitute an established infrastructure network — complete with reinforced flooring, fire suppression systems, and lighting — their utilization is presently limited to emergency disaster relief. These valuable assets remain exclusively for emergency use because securing commercial passenger transport permits for their use as alternate vertiports remains a significant regulatory challenge.
This initiative explores the feasibility of repurposing Osaka City's rooftop "emergency landing sites" into alternate vertiports. By serving as backup landing facilities in unforeseen circumstances — such as when an aircraft cannot reach its intended destination — these sites offer critical support for the commercial rollout of eVTOL operations. This initiative leverages the National Strategic Special Zone framework to push forward technical verifications and operational framework developments. By addressing key urban constraints — namely high construction costs and scarce land — we aim to expedite the implementation of a secure urban air network and accelerate the broader adoption of eVTOL technology.
Future Outlook
The 146 existing rooftop emergency helipads across Osaka City were designed exclusively for disaster response, unlike most previous eVTOL hub projects that centered on constructing new infrastructure. Consequently, comprehensive operational guidelines and targeted regulatory frameworks for converting these sites into commercial vertiports are still being developed.
A central element of this initiative combines desktop research with direct on-site building assessments. This dual approach provides the concrete operational and safety data required to obtain regulatory clearances. Ultimately, the insights gained will inform future vertiport construction standards. By adapting this methodology to other regions with comparable needs, we seek to accelerate the broader integration of next-generation mobility into daily life.
Editor’s Notes:
(*1) eVTOL is an abbreviation for electric vertical takeoff and landing. As the name suggests, eVTOL aircraft can take off and land without a runway. eVTOLs are powered by electricity and incorporate advanced, automatic, flight control technology.
(*2) Announcement of Selection Results for the FY2026 Survey and Demonstration Project for Advanced Services and Regulatory Reform in Super Cities and Special Zones (Japanese)
https://www.chisou.go.jp/tiiki/kokusentoc/supercity/supercity_260529_saitakukekka.html
(*3) Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai with Osaka Metro / Osaka Government related press releases include:
https://skydrive.co.jp/en/news/13429/
https://skydrive.co.jp/en/news/14063/
https://skydrive.co.jp/en/news/14888/
https://skydrive.co.jp/en/news/15284/
https://skydrive.co.jp/en/news/15972/
https://skydrive.co.jp/en/news/16292/
(*4) Super City National Strategic Special Zones
https://www.chisou.go.jp/tiiki/kokusentoc/index.html (Japanese)
https://www.chisou.go.jp/tiiki/kokusentoc/english/index.html (English)
About SkyDrive Inc.
SkyDrive is a Japanese compact eVTOL company aiming "to take the lead in the once-in-a-century mobility revolution." The company began testing eVTOL prototypes in 2014 prior to official incorporation in 2018. Under its future vision for urban transportation, flying in eVTOLs will become a regular part of city life. In 2019, SkyDrive became the first company to fly a crewed eVTOL in Japan. In 2025, the company successfully showcased SKYDRIVE, the company's first commercial eVTOL product, with demonstration flights at the Osaka Expo witnessed by thousands of visitors over a one-month period. SkyDrive began production of SKYDRIVE in March 2024 at a plant owned by Suzuki Motor Corporation, SkyDrive's official production partner. SkyDrive has been working with civil aviation authorities in Japan and the U.S. to obtain certification for SKYDRIVE, with the aim of launching the aircraft into service in 2028. SkyDrive is headquartered in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture and led by CEO Tomohiro Fukuzawa, an engineer and entrepreneur.
For more information, please visit: https://skydrive.co.jp/en/
146 existing rooftop emergency landing sites in Osaka City
Conceptual image of a rooftop eVTOL vertiport
NEW YORK (AP) — One year after rallying past the Red Sox to win an AL Wild Card Series, the New York Yankees battered Boston.
Max Fried dominated the Red Sox in the playoffs for the second straight year, Cody Bellinger and Luis García Jr. homered, and the Yankees rolled to a 9-2 win Wednesday night that completed a two-game sweep.
“We enjoyed tonight. We got a lot more work to do,” Bellinger said.
New York will face AL East champion Tampa Bay in an AL Division Series starting Saturday.
“The fans were electric from the first pitch and the boys were hungry. We got a young, hungry team here," Yankees captain Aaron Judge said as teammates sprayed him with bubbly during the clubhouse celebration. “This makes me feel young every single time.”
Judge missed this series because of a calf injury and isn't sure whether he will play against the Rays, who beat New York 7-6 in the season series.
“Saturday’s a long ways away," he said.
Clinging to a 2-1 lead after Willson Contreras homered to end Boston's 26-inning postseason scoreless streak, the Yankees broke open the game with a six-run sixth after Spencer Jones reached on a wild pitch while striking out leading off — with the help of a video review.
García, acquired at the trade deadline, had three hits in his first postseason start, and Bellinger had four RBIs that included a three-run homer capping the sixth-inning burst that put New York ahead 8-1.
“Step one,” said Bellinger, who caught the ceremonial first pitch from his dad, Clay, a 2000 Yankees World Series champion. “Now we got to go into Tampa and play against a tough team."
Boston, which reached the playoffs after rebounding from a 32-46 start, lost last year's wild-card matchup after defeating the Yankees in the opener.
“Regardless of all the special things that happened this summer, and there was quite a few, the goal is to win the World Series and that ended for us tonight, so it’s frustrating,” Red Sox manager Chad Tracy said. “There’s a lot of things you can say, but in the moment right now, I think the guys only care that we lost. And it’s going to take some time to get over that.”
Boston, which also got a seventh-inning homer from Nick Sogard off Will Warren, was missing leadoff hitter Roman Anthony because of a hand injury. The Red Sox were held to a .117 average in the series (7 for 60) with 18 strikeouts and outscored 18-2.
Every starter had a hit for New York, which batted .382 in the series. Boston's bullpen had a 20.25 ERA.
“We played great baseball in a lot of ways here, obviously anchored by our two great starters," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.
Yankees batters hit .450 (9 for 20) with runners in scoring position after finishing 19th among the 30 teams with a .246 RISP during the regular season.
“I feel like it’s a whole new level from regular season to these last two days,” Austin Wells said.
A day after Cam Schlittler led New York to a 9-0 win, Fried pitched three-hit ball over six innings to win a postseason game for the first time since the 2021 World Series clincher with Atlanta.
New York started eight left-handed hitters against Sonny Gray, back on the mound where his career derailed during a dismal Yankees stretch in 2017 and ’18.
García's fourth-inning homer put the Yankees ahead and Bellinger, one of the top lefty-on-lefty hitters in the major leagues, added a fifth-inning RBI single against left-handed Erik Miller, who had just relieved.
Gray was disappointed he wasn't allowed to face Bellinger.
“I think I’m the best pitcher in the American League going through the order a third time. I think that’s a fact,” Gray said. "I would’ve liked to live or die with me in that moment, but that's the competitor I am. And, yeah, I think you can probably ask the guys and they felt the same way. So I felt strong. I felt confident. I felt convicted.”
Jones struck out both to start and end the bottom of the sixth, a weird half-inning that included a wild pitch, throwing error, stolen base, bunt single and intentional walk to Ben Rice that preceded Bellinger's homer.
"I can’t believe they were willing to face a guy like Belli with men on base there," Rice said.
Garrett Crochet, who beat the Yankees in last year's Wild Card Series opener, hadn't pitched since April 25 because of left shoulder inflammation when he bounced a sweeper off Adley Rutschman's chest. The catcher picked up the ball and threw to first, where umpire John Libka signaled that Jones was out. The Yankees appealed and the call was reversed by the video umpire at the commissioner's office.
“I couldn’t believe he was there,” Boone said. "I saw the ball squirt away a little bit. I didn’t think that much of it, and looked up and I was, like, 'Oh, he’s safe.'''
Jones swiped second and kept going to third when Rutschman’s throw skipped into center. Rookie George Lombard Jr. singled for his first postseason RBI, Jazz Chisholm Jr. singled and Trent Grisham loaded the bases with a bunt single.
Wells' sacrifice fly against Garrett Whitlock increased the lead to 4-1, Ryan McMahon hit an RBI groundout and Rice, who had four hits and six RBIs in the opener, was intentionally walked. Bellinger reached down and pulled a changeup into the right-center field seats.
Fried struck out six and walked one. He has allowed one run over 12 1/3 innings in the two Wild Card Series against the Red Sox.
“Definitely wasn’t sharp from the get-go but just wanted to challenge them, not try to give any free passes, especially in the first inning," Fried said.
After a night of celebration and a day off, the Yankees will head to Florida on Friday.
“There’s just so much more to do,” Bellinger said after the big night with his father on hand. “So obviously enjoy the moment, understand how cool it is, but keep on going.”
New York RHP Gerrit Cole (10-9, 3.61), who would have started a third game against Boston, is likely to start Game 1 against the Rays.
See AP’s full MLB coverage here
New York Yankees' Cody Bellinger follows through on a three-run home run during the sixth inning against the Boston Red Sox in Game 2 of baseball's American League Wild Card Series, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
New York Yankees starting pitcher Max Fried reacts during the fifth inning in Game 2 of baseball's American League Wild Card Series against the Boston Red Sox, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
New York Yankees' Jazz Chisholm Jr. reacts after hitting a single against the Boston Red Sox during the sixth inning in Game 2 of baseball's American League Wild Card Series, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
New York Yankees' Cody Bellinger, right, celebrates with teammate Luis García Jr., left, after hitting a three-run home run against the Boston Red Sox during the sixth inning in Game 2 of baseball's American League Wild Card Series, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
New York Yankees' Luis García Jr. reacts after a single against the Boston Red Sox during the sixth inning in Game 2 of baseball's American League Wild Card Series, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
