TOKYO -- Japanese online retailer Rakuten and Yamato Transport, a unit of logistics company Yamato Holdings, will conduct field trials of drones with the aim of using them for home deliveries, following in the footsteps of Amazon.com and other rivals already experimenting with the technology.
The test flights will begin as soon as April in the city of Chiba, which was named a special strategic zone by the Japanese government. That designation is expected to loosen a number of aviation restrictions.
