Toyota aims to open its futuristic city near Mount Fuji this year

Toyota Motor plans to move in the first 100 residents of a futuristic city at the base of Mount Fuji in Japan by as soon as this fall. The initial residents of Woven City will be composed mostly of the carmaker's own employees and their families, and will gradually expand to about 2,000 residents as part of its initial phases, Toyota said Monday. "This year, residents will begin moving in as we slowly bring Woven City to life," Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda said at a news conference at CES in Las Vegas. "We aim to accelerate the pace at which new technologies can be tested and developed at Woven City." Toyoda debuted plans for the "living laboratory" five years ago as Toyota's then-president, saying then it would be a fully sustainable city and real-world showcase for artificial intelligence, advanced robotics, self-driving cars and smart homes.