TOYOTA, Japan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 11, 2026--
SkyDrive Inc. (“SkyDrive”), a leading compact eVTOL (*1) aircraft manufacturer based in Japan, announced that it has raised new funding through a third-party share allotment to Tobu Railway Co. Ltd., one of Japan’s leading transportation operators, and Tobu Top Tours Co. Ltd. Through this partnership, the companies will work closely to accelerate commercial eVTOL deployment in the Kanto region by combining the Tobu Group's extensive transportation and tourism assets with SkyDrive's aircraft development and operational expertise.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261109273043/en/
Background and Purpose
Driven by its mission of leading the once-in-a-century mobility revolution, SkyDrive is developing and manufacturing compact eVTOL aircraft to make everyday air mobility a reality. Following uncrewed demonstration flights at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan (*2), SkyDrive continues to make steady progress through the certification processes required for commercial operations, working toward type certification. Leveraging assembly lines established in collaboration with a leading automaker, SkyDrive is currently advancing commercialization projects alongside local partners and municipalities across 10 countries worldwide.
In Japan, SkyDrive has collaborated with four regional railway operators (*3) on feasibility studies and flight demonstrations. With this strategic investment, the Tobu Group becomes SkyDrive's fifth railway partner. Partnering with the Tobu Group, which operates one of Japan’s major private railway networks, allows SkyDrive to advance business development and plan ground infrastructure across the Kanto region, surrounding Tokyo.
Key Areas of Collaboration
Through this investment and partnership, the companies will focus on the following core initiatives across the Kanto region:
Through this deepened partnership with the Tobu Group, SkyDrive will strengthen its business foundation and accelerate the buildout of next-generation mobility infrastructure toward launching commercial services in 2028 and driving sustainable long-term growth.
Tomohiro Fukuzawa, founder and CEO of SkyDrive
“We are thrilled and deeply encouraged that Tobu Railway and Tobu Top Tours share our vision for the future. To establish eVTOLs as a familiar part of everyday life, we must do more than just build aircraft. We need to seamlessly connect our aircraft with existing transit networks, develop vertiports and create compelling regional travel experiences. Alongside the Tobu Group, which boasts an extensive transit network and iconic tourism assets across Kanto such as Nikko, we will work toward launching commercial services in 2028 to make air mobility a daily choice.”
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/
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) Related Press Releases: SkyDrive Starts Demonstration Flights at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai:
https://skydrive.co.jp/en/news/16094/
(*3) Partnerships and routes with the four railway companies: https://skydrive.co.jp/en/news/18235/
- Kintetsu Group Holdings (Kintetsu Group): Routes connecting the Ise-Shima area
- Osaka Metro: The Osaka Diamond Route connecting four key locations across Osaka
- East Japan Railway Company (JR East): Routes connecting Morioka and Koiwai (AZUMA FARM KOIWAI)
- Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu): Routes connecting Oita Prefecture, including the Beppu and Yufuin hot spring resort areas
(*4) SAKULaLa: A biometric-based common platform service jointly developed by Tobu Railway Co. Ltd. and Hitachi, Ltd. (A registered trademark of Tobu Railway Co. Ltd.)
SkyDrive Raises Funds from Tobu Railway and Tobu Top Tours to Accelerate eVTOL Deployment in Kanto
SkyDrive Raises Funds from Tobu Railway and Tobu Top Tours to Accelerate eVTOL Deployment in Kanto
LIMA, Peru (AP) — Pope Leo XIV declared Peru his “homeland” on Wednesday as he arrived in Lima at the start of his historic visit, crediting Peruvians with having formed him as a pastor by sharing their lives, joys and struggles with him.
Leo told President Keiko Fujimori and government officials upon his arrival that the Peruvian citizenship he acquired in 2015 cemented a bond that began long before. In an emotional address at the start of his visit, the Chicago-born pope said: “Today I understand how much of this land remains with me and how much of my own story also belongs to you.”
“That is why I can tell you, with deep gratitude, that I am also returning to my homeland,” he said to applause.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back for updates. AP’s earlier story follows below.
LIMA, Peru (AP) — Pope Leo XIV arrived in his second homeland of Peru on Wednesday, returning to the place that he credits with teaching him how to be a pastor and where a nationwide party erupted to welcome the beloved “Padre Robert” home.
Leo seemed genuinely moved as he emerged from his Aerolineas Argentinas charter plane, smiling broadly as he greeted President Keiko Fujimori on the tarmac and embracing two children who brought him flowers. The Vatican estimated that some 3 million people lined Leo's kilometers-long (miles-long) motorcade route into town, waving Peruvian and Holy See flags.
Some in the roaring crowds broke through the tight security to chase behind the car that transported him to the presidential palace, where Leo met privately with Fujimori. During the formal welcome ceremony in the palace courtyard, he sang the Peruvian national anthem alongside Fujimori and a children's choir.
The visit to Peru marked the final leg of Leo’s three-nation South America tour and its emotional highlight, given the more than two decades that the former Robert Prevost spent in Peru as a missionary priest and later bishop. He has said it was here that he learned “what it means to be a shepherd.” As a dual citizen of the United States and Peru, he’s the first pope from each country.
“We love him so much because he's worked here, he knows our sufferings, he knows it all," said 85-year-old Evelina Cruz, who held a pope plush doll made by her niece as she waited for Leo to arrive.
In preparation for the pope’s visit, a huge 46-foot (14-meter) statue of the pontiff was unveiled in the port of El Callao. Baristas in Lima, the capital, were offering cappuccinos decorated with the image of the pope.
“My heart is so excited that it makes me want to cry with joy,” said Zuly Castillo, who served as Leo’s secretary when he was bishop of the northern city of Chiclayo near the Pacific Coast.
Gustavo Morello, an associate professor of sociology at Boston College and the author of “Lived Religion in Latin America,” said the trip was a “return to his origins, without any doubt.”
“Peru is the crown of the trip, the homecoming of the first Peruvian pope, no matter where he was born,” he said.
With hands raised and voices lifted in song, hundreds awaited the pope’s arrival in Lima in front of the presidential palace. “Long live Christ!” the crowd sang, following a Catholic choir on the stage.
Popemania also hit Chiclayo, where Leo arrives on Friday. Leo is painted in colorful murals, emblazoned on T-shirts, baseball hats and even bobblehead dolls.
Over the coming days, Leo will celebrate Mass in all his old stomping grounds including at the nearby sanctuary of St. Turibius of Mogrovejo in Zaña, a city that is a hub of Afro-Peruvian culture, and where the pope often visited to pray to the saint of his devotion.
Since Leo knows his adopted country so well, his speeches will be closely watched, especially one he’ll deliver from the square in front of Lima’s cathedral Thursday “on the challenges and hopes for the future of the Peruvian people.”
Peru, a nation of 34 million people, is overwhelmed by challenges, among them the looming arrival of nature’s chaotic climatic agent El Niño, violent crime and income inequality. In 2025, 25.7% of the Peruvian population was living in monetary poverty.
“A small elite has GDP levels comparable to some U.S. states,” Morello said, adding that while the macroeconomy “is doing well, most Peruvians live in structural poverty and economic insecurity.”
While the country is no longer experiencing the terror of the Shining Path rebel movement of the 1980s and 1990s, when Leo was a young Augustinian missionary, it is undergoing a wave of violence and insecurity.
“His return, now as pope, inspires great hope among a large segment of Peruvian society that still perceives and feels the abandonment of the state,” said Rolando Pérez, a professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru.
“Deeply etched in the public consciousness is the image of a shepherd who stood by the people, helping to bring into the public agenda their demands and their cry for justice,” he said.
The pope will honor Peru’s Indigenous peoples by traveling to Pucallpa, in Peru’s Amazon, to celebrate Mass. Illegal gold mining and the cultivation of coca leaves, the raw material used to produce cocaine, are affecting Peru’s Indigenous peoples.
“The Amazon is a place where critical issues affecting development — such as the environmental crisis, the exclusion of Indigenous peoples, various forms of violence, and extreme poverty — all intersect,” said Pérez.
Leo will also meet with popular groups of faithful and representatives of local traditions in Cusco — the capital of the Inca empire, an important city of Spanish colonial rule and an important cultural destination, including the nearby ruins at Machu Picchu.
The pope will celebrate Mass in Cusco’s main square, where in 1781 the Indigenous hero Túpac Amaru II was killed following the most significant rebellion against the Spanish during the colonial era.
The conservative Fujimori came to power in July on promises of restoring order to a nation plagued by extortion and homicide, which have nearly doubled, reaching 10.7 per 100,000 inhabitants -- up from 5.8 five years ago.
Alonso Cárdenas, a political science professor at the Antonio Ruiz de Montoya University, said Peruvians will welcome the pope at a time when many feel disappointed with authorities following a decade of political instability that has seen a revolving door of nine presidents since July 2016. Many Peruvians are also battered by rising insecurity and the increasing cost of food.
“There’s no sign of a reaction, no strategy,” from Fujimori’s government, he said.
As a result, many hope for a message from Leo that will prompt a response from those in power.
“There’s a profound sense of weariness regarding politics and corruption,” said Véronique Lecaros, head of the department of theology at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru.
In contrast, she said the Catholic Church enjoys a level of credibility that surpasses any other Peruvian institution.
Huge crowds are expected to turn out to welcome Leo home, even though Peru has seen Catholicism fall in recent years. According to the Pew Research Center, the Catholic population was at 76% in 2013-2014, but now stands at around 67%.
That stands in line with trends around the world where many continue to join the growing ranks of the religiously unaffiliated, or “nones.” But Lecaros says this doesn’t mean Peruvians have lost their faith, and most still consider themselves to be religious.
“They’ll listen to the pope, and some inspired by his example, will renew their interest in the church," she said. "In the end though, it will depend on how Catholic lay and clerical leaders choose to behave.”
Associated Press writers Franklin Briceño and Astrid Suarez contributed to this report.
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Pope Leo XIV is welcomed by Peru's President Keiko Fujimori at the presidential palace in Lima, Peru, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
Pope Leo XIV is welcomed by Peru's President Keiko Fujimori at the presidential palace in Lima, Peru, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
Pope Leo XIV arrives at Callao Naval Air Base in Lima, on the sixth day of his twelve-day apostolic journey to South America, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Pope Leo XIV attends a welcome ceremony with Peru's President Keiko Fujimori at Palacio de Gobierno in Lima, on the sixth day of his twelve-day apostolic journey to South America, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Pope Leo XIV is welcomed by Peru's President Keiko Fujimori, left, as he arrives at Callao Naval Air Base in Lima, on the sixth day of his twelve-day apostolic journey to South America, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026. At center, Father Manuel Dorantes from Chicago. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) ADDITION: Adds the identity of the person at center
Pope Leo XIV arrives at Callao Naval Air Base in Lima, on the sixth day of his twelve-day apostolic journey to South America, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Pope Leo XIV is welcomed by Peru's President Keiko Fujimori and two children with flowers as he arrives at Callao Naval Air Base in Lima, on the sixth day of his twelve-day apostolic journey to South America, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Pope Leo XIV is welcomed by Peru's President Keiko Fujimori and two children with flowers as he arrives at Callao Naval Air Base in Lima, on the sixth day of his twelve-day apostolic journey to South America, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Shamans perform a welcome ritual for Pope Leo XIV days before his arrival, in Lima, Peru, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo)
People cheer as a statue of Pope Leo XIV is installed in 'El Niño' park in Callao, Peru, Friday, Nov. 6, 2026, ahead of his planned trip to Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru from November 6 to17. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo)
A girl runs with a Vatican City flag on the steps of the Saint Turibius of Mogrovejo Catholic church as the community prepares for the return of Pope Leo XIV to Zaña, Peru, Friday, Nov. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao)
A person attaches a Vatican City flag to the railings outside Saint Turibius of Mogrovejo Catholic church ahead of Pope Leo XIV's visit on Friday, Nov. 6, 2026, in Zaña, Peru. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao)
A motorcyclist drives past a mural of Pope Leo XIV in the city of Chiclayo, Peru, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao)
