Israeli company Better Place has been chosen by the Japanese government to head a pilot project aimed at converting Tokyo's enormous fleet of taxis to electric power.

Tokyo currently has over 60,000 taxis working its roads every day, far more than New York City.

The new project will see all the taxis working the central Tokyo neighborhood of Roppongi Hills converted to electric power. The taxis will be fitted with long-lasting batteries, and charging stations will be set up throughout the area.

Japan hopes to have at least half of the new cars hitting the roads be powered by electricity rather than fossil fuels by 2020.

Better Place is also behind Israel's most prominent effort to get electric cars on the road. In partnership with Renault-Nissan, Better Place hopes to introduce subsidized electric cars to the Israeli market in the coming two years.