Japan’s registration threshold catches most consumer drones. Operating rules sit on top of it.
Registration
The Civil Aviation Bureau gives no weight exemption: “It is mandatory to register your unmanned aircraft, which weighs 100g or more, under the Civil Aeronautics Act in Japan.”
The aircraft itself must show it is registered: “You must display a registration ID on your unmanned aircraft and equip it with a remote ID function.”
Permission in advance
The source adds a further requirement: “You must get flight permission / approval in advance if you fly your unmanned aircraft in the airspace and ways to fly below.”
The page names two airspace categories only through the map it links to: “Airspace around airports” and “Densely Inhabited Districts (DID).” MLIT publishes an official map that shows both, green for airport airspace and red for DID. Use it to check a specific spot before you fly.
Central Tokyo, Osaka and every other major Japanese city sit inside DID, so a drone flown in an urban area needs permission in advance.
Rules for every flight
Two rules apply whatever your registration or permission status:
- “Do not fly unmanned aircraft under the influence of alcohol and drugs.”
- “Fly unmanned aircraft after preflight actions”. Preflight checks are required before every flight.
Flying under permission or approval
Two further duties follow:
- Report your plan ahead of time: “You must report your flight plan (time and date, route, and altitude, etc.) to MLIT in advance, when you fly your unmanned aircraft under the flight permission / approval from MLIT.”
- Keep records as you go: “You must keep your flight logbook and enter all of necessary items about journey log, daily inspection log, and inspection and maintenance record, when you fly your unmanned aircraft under the flight permission / approval from MLIT.”
Accidents
Permission makes no difference here: “You must report an accident / serious incident, regardless of whether you get a flight permission / approval or not.”
What the page does not say
- Which airspace and flight methods need permission. The page does not list the flight methods that trigger the requirement.
- How a short-term visitor registers. The page does not say whether a visitor-specific process exists for a drone brought in for a trip, what it requires or how long it takes. For anyone packing a drone, that is the more practical question.
Register anything of 100g or more. Before you fly, ask the Civil Aviation Bureau how a visitor completes registration, and which airspace near you needs advance permission, unless you are flying in open, clearly unrestricted space.