Usain Bolt, Jamaica’s king of sprint, is

hoping to gain some traction as he unveiled his electric scooter brand in Tokyo,

Japan earlier on Friday (Nov. 15).

Bolt Mobility, which is co-founded by the nine-time

Olympic champion, is trying to convince Japanese regulators that the product’s environmental

benefits are worth more consideration as the start-up seeks to get some laws

relaxed before targeting the Asian market.

Under current Japanese laws, scooters can

only be driven on roads; owners are required to carry license plates, and

riders need a motorcycle license.

View this post on Instagram Kon’nichiwa ! ??? @bolt_now ?? #BOLTJapanA post shared by Usain St.Leo Bolt (@usainbolt) on Nov 14, 2019 at 9:52pm PST

Benefitting from Bolt’s celebrity status,

the electric scooter company plans on initially limiting rentals to private

lands, which would be exempt from Japan’s traffic regulations, as well as

rolling out services across 40 universities across the archipelago.

“Beyond that, representatives of the

year-old American start-up are talking with regulators about easing

restrictions, arguing its scooters can reduce traffic congestion and thereby

reduce emissions. Bolt hopes his celebrity can help deliver that message,” a

report from Reuters explained.

“We’re still talking and trying to figure out how to push forward and do better things for the environment because that’s where it started,” Bolt told Reuters after the launch.

Having launched in New York, Paris and Washington D.C. earlier this year, Bolt Mobility is aiming to expand its operations in 20 cities globally by the end of 2019 and is aggressively targeting 50 across eight countries in 2020.