Laws around the flying of commercial and recreational drones in Japan
To fly in the following areas, you must have authorization from the ministry concerned:
150m max height
Don't fly over crowds
Don't fly near airports
30 m from property
What’s interesting about flying drones in Japan? When you hear Unmanned aerial vehicle, the first thing that comes to mind is stealth weapons or advanced package delivery drones.
Today drones are used for practically anything from capturing wedding photos or carrying out mapping or industrial inspections.
With more people adopting the use of drones in Japan, few are aware of the laws involved given the dense government websites, written in Japanese.
Japan Civil Aviation Authority is the custodian of drone laws in the country.
Yes. It is legal to fly a drone in Japan. For a while, there were no drone laws in place, till some random guy decided to fly a drone filled with radioactive sand over the Japanese prime minister’s house. Unfortunately for the industry, unpleasant events such as those never go unnoticed. Japan set up drone laws to act as a basic regulatory framework for the industry.
You can get in touch with the JCAB, which is the body concerned with drones.
Email: hqt-jcab.mujin@ml.mlit.go.jp
Tel +8135253 8111
Drones are clustered into a general category, meaning the law does not separate commercial from recreational. Both are subjected to the respective codes of contact and restrictions.
It is important to point out that the Japanese authorities are considering starting up a drone registration authority.
To fly in the following areas, you must have authorization from the ministry concerned:
Your request should be submitted 10 days prior and can be sent via mail or post. An easier way would be to personally drop it off at the office concerned. Applications sent via email or Fax will not be accepted unless under emergency situations.
To send it via post, use this application form
When addressing the letter, it is highly advisable that you address it in Japanese.
Yes, you can. However, it is important to point out that, most parts of the 23 wards fall under the densely populated category.
You will fall under this category if you were flying an illegal operation. The courts shall determine the extent of your punishment. The judges will gauge your infraction and arrive at a decision on whether you are culpable or not. The Civil Aviation Act proposes a penalty of:
In worst-case scenarios, your penalty might be extended to the Protection of Cultural practices, Road Traffic Act, and others.
If your drone falls in the below 200 g category, you do not need permission. However, you still need permission if you plan on flying it close to an airport.
My following two recommendations are 2 great compact drones that are quite silent and also small enough to travel with and not stand out as annoying.
4k
31 min
10 km
No follow-me
DJI has surprised us with this incredible camera drone under 250g, which is legal to fly in most countries without registration.
It comes at a very cheap price for its incredible specs.I have covered it much more in-depth in my article review and even compared it with the Mavic Air 2.
4k 60p
34 min
10 km
Follow me
If you want more control over things like shutter speed, iso, and such, the best professional drone that still falls under the 500g category is the DJI Mavic Air.
It's made mostly for people who want to play around with settings and enter into the pro category.
DJI lowered its price since it was first released.
The best way to figure out what areas you can fly in, while you're here is by consulting DJI's official map.
They do a great job mapping the places that one should avoid while flying in every country:
These would be the current updated drone laws for Japan. I suggest checking my full map with all the countries' drone laws to see where it's best to travel.
If you are going to visit Japan, make sure you’ve learned all the dos and don’ts of flying drones in this region. This will help you have a safe journey and enjoy flying your drone without getting yourself into trouble.
Also, keep in mind that, commercial and recreational drones are treated differently in most countries therefore you will need to prepare yourself accordingly. Last but not least, always follow rules and regulations and make sure to respect the laws of every country.
