On September 2, SoftBank made an announcement regarding its successful execution of a communication trial for the High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS)—an aerial mobile base station—over Japanese airspace. This milestone marks Japan’s inaugural venture into such testing. The base station, resembling an airship, is engineered to sustain flight at an altitude of around 20 kilometers above the Earth's surface for durations spanning from several months up to half a year. Throughout the trial period, the apparatus was initially deployed in the United States before conducting a flight around Muroto City in Kochi Prefecture from August 23 to 24. This endeavor successfully validated its functionalities, encompassing voice calls (including emergency calls), video calls, and communication with compact drones. Looking ahead, SoftBank envisions broadening both the flight zone and operational timeframe by 2027, with the ambition of furnishing communication services to enterprises during their routine activities.