The event and display display took place days after Toyota Motor Corporation’s venture capital branch said it was investing another $500 million in Joby. This makes for a total Toyota capital commitment to the eVTOL startup of more than $894 million.

“This is a moment we have been looking forward to for a long time and marks a significant milestone on our journey towards making clean air travel an everyday reality,” said JoeBen Bevirt, Founder and CEO of Joby. “We share Toyota’s vision for the future of air travel and are honored to have had the opportunity to present a glimpse of that future through our exhibition flight in Japan.”

Toyota Motor Corporation founder Kiichiro Toyoda was also interest in the aircraft business, making prototypes of helicopters and aircraft components. After World War II, among other developments, Dr. Toyoda was involved in the joint development of the world’s first electronically-controlled aero piston engine with an American company  at Toyota’s Higashi Fuji Technical Center, which could be described as the birthplace of Toyota’s development of air mobility. [This appears to be an early version of FADEC, but the company is un-named, and not confirmed by AutoInformed – AutoCrat]

“Air mobility has the potential to change our `sense of distance and time,’ and open a future with the new option of air mobility that will further enrich the lives of many people,” said Hiroki Nakajima, member of the board and executive vice president of Toyota Motor Corporation. “Toyota is committed to deepening our collaboration with Joby and we will continue to work together to realize our shared dreams.”

Joby aspires to start commercial passenger operations next year. Joby claims it’s working with Uber, Delta Air Lines and ANA, in Japan. Joby has applied to the JCAB, the Japanese regulator, for aircraft certification in Japan.