Tokyo's Largest Logistics Base Completed

Tokyo, Oct. 2 (Jiji Press)--Mitsui Fudosan Co. and Nippon Steel Kowa Real Estate Co. on Wednesday unveiled to the press a newly built logistics base in Tokyo's Itabashi Ward, the largest such facility in the Japanese capital.

The six-story facility, with a total floor area of about 260,000 square meters, was completed on the site of a former steel plant at the end of last month. It will be used by Yamato Transport Co. and others.

Amid a severe labor shortage in the logistics industry, the facility includes an area for testing drones for delivery and facility inspection. This initiative involves the University of Tokyo, KDDI SmartDrone Inc. and others.

The new facility, which stores relief supplies and has a space that can be used as a helipad, will also serve as a disaster relief base for local residents in the event of a disaster such as river flooding. It can provide shelter for about 1,000 people.

"We want to increase the value of the local community by making the logistics facility meet social needs," Mitsui Fudosan Managing Officer Hiroyuki Shinozuka said.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]