Most recent changes to Japan’s drone legislation were enacted only a few weeks ago, when rules were made prohibiting unmanned flight over densely populated areas and near airports. Now the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications plans to change current restrictions on radio transmission as another step in Japan’s efforts to create a regulatory framework that balances safety and promotion of commercial interests.
Drones are currently usually operated by Wi-Fi; but heavily utilized radio frequencies can make it difficult or impossible to transmit high-quality video. The Japanese solution is to designate frequencies in the now-unused ranges of 5.7GHz and 2.4GHz for specific use by drones. While Japan currently caps radio signals controlling drones at 10-milliwats, which allows them to transmit images to a radius of about 300 meters, new legislation would increase the limit to 1 watt, allowing transmission of images to around 5km.
This will enable transmission of high-quality video for a variety of applications: such as construction and engineering.
The new rules could be written into policy as early as the summer of 2016.
Legislators are also considering implementing regulations concerning the flight of drones outside of the pilot’s line of sight, something US legislators have lagged on, sending many companies to Japan and other countries to test new commercial drone applications. Amazon will test package delivery in the Chiba, one of Japan’s deregulation zones; Sony will offer drone-based service for housing construction in 2016. Japan’s own government agencies are also implementing new drone uses: the Ibaraki Prefecture will start using drones to monitor for the illegal disposal of industrial waste.
Miriam McNabb is the Editor-in-Chief of DRONELIFE and CEO of JobForDrones, a professional drone services marketplace, and a fascinated observer of the emerging drone industry and the regulatory environment for drones. Miriam has penned over 3,000 articles focused on the commercial drone space and is an international speaker and recognized figure in the industry. Miriam has a degree from the University of Chicago and over 20 years of experience in high tech sales and marketing for new technologies.
For drone industry consulting or writing, Email Miriam.
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