Assisted by a ¥100bn (£6.6m) grant from the Japanese government, the four automakers will bear part of the cost to install the charging facilities. They will also work together to build a convenient and accessible charging network, enabling car owners to charge their vehicle at any point with the same card.

At present, there 1,700 quick chargers and just over 3,000 normal chargers in Japan. The agreement between the four companies will see these numbers swell to 8,000 normal chargers and 4,000 quick charge points in the country's most populated areas.

The initiative forms part of the government’s aim to achieve a 'green' ratio of 15-20% of new car sales by 2020.