Science fiction has prepared us for a plethora of transportation methods to look forward to in the future, and while flying cars are still a ways off, the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism thinks that autonomous vehicles can hit the country's roads as early as the 2020s. The automobiles won't be completely self-driving but instead will have an "autopilot system" that engages when driven onto specially designed expressways reserved for similarly equipped vehicles. When the car nears its destination and exits the expressway, it will be up the driver to navigate for the rest of the trip.

The ministry will organize a study panel to begin in-depth discussions regarding self-controlled cars later this year. With Google and the state of Nevada already preparing for automated cars in the United States, it'll be exciting to see which country will be the first to make drivers obsolete.