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A collective of 21 businesses and organizations have joined forces with the Japanese government to develop flying cars, a rather ambitious project which, if it succeeds, will see the island nation’s skies flocking with airborne vehicles in the foreseeable future.The group includes heavyweights like Airbus, Uber Technologies, NEC Cord, Japan Airlines, Cartivator (a startup backed by Toyota Motors), and Yamato Holdings, among others.

The delegates from all these stakeholders will get together on Aug 29, 2018, to initiate the discussions on the roadmap for the project. If all goes as per plan, and the project could be fully implemented sometime in the coming decade. “The Japanese government will provide appropriate support to help realize the concept of flying cars, such as the creation of acceptable rules,” read a statement from the Japan government’s Ministry of Trade.

Worth noting here is that most people are not even aware of how close the world is to having flying cars in our skies. There are many startups around the globe working diligently to develop small and practical aircraft that can be used in real life. Japan is at the forefront of this pursuit owing to its excellent technological infrastructure and a supportive government that is prepared to facilitate appropriate legislation and infrastructure as and when needed.

While the technological challenges to make flying cars an everyday-reality is likely to be overcome within the next few years; the technology is almost certain to be put through rigorous scrutiny for safety reasons. There will be several regulations to navigate through, and it can not be done without addressing the safety standards set in place by different agencies.