Drones in Japan

Japan Coast Guard to 'eliminate' Chinese drones

The Japan Coast Guard plans to stop using and procuring Chinese-made drones in fiscal 2020 due to concerns over information security, Nikkei has learned. It will be the second case in which Chinese products are barred from consideration by Japanese government procurement programs. Equipment from China's Huawei Technologies is also banned from consideration for government use.

The Japan Coast Guard is currently using a few dozen Chinese-made drones to conduct rescue and surveillance activities. The drones are reasonably priced and perform well but will be replaced by non-Chinese models. The coast guard is tasked with search and rescue operations at sea, monitoring suspicious vessels such as North Korean fishing boats and safeguarding the waters around the Senkaku Islands, Okinawa Prefecture. China also claims these islands, which it calls Diaoyu.

Japanese Man Accused of Flying Drone in Banned Area

Japanese police accused a man Tuesday of flying a drone in an area near the Maritime Self-Defense Force's district headquarters in Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture, western Japan, in violation of the drone regulation law.

The 50-year-old man became the first person to be accused of violating the law, which bans drone flights over designated areas to fight terrorism. Hiroshima prefectural police sent his case to prosecutors.

Japan to install drone detectors at airports

Government plans to install system ahead of 2020 Olympics

The Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry has decided to install a system that detects unauthorised drones flying above airports. Such drone flights have been causing trouble for airlines operating flights both at home and abroad. The system is said to be capable of detecting drones flying at altitudes beyond what the naked eye can see. The ministry plans to install the system at several airports as early as the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Flying drones in the vicinity of airports is banned under the Japanese aviation law and other regulations.

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