Drone footage has captured the aftermath of recent heavy rains in Japan that have caused landslides and flooding throughout Ashikita, a city in the Kumamoto prefecture. The flooding has reportedly taken the lives of 58 so far.

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Japanese mobile service provider Rakuten Mobile has announced it will begin to use drones for inspections to replace the need for humans to manually check its base station. The drones will take various photos of each mask for later inspection by the team.

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Japan is reportedly planning to bring in a licensing system for beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flights in preparation for an increase in drones flying in the skies above delivering goods and assisting government agencies in day-to-day tasks.

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Drones demonstrated their usefulness during a recent Tokyo Metro Co. demonstration, showing reporters how it’s utilizing drones to improve tunnel safety. The inspection drones were flown at the Koto Ward facility in Tokyo and have been using drones since the 6th of February to inspect tunnels.

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New legislation in Japan could land you in jail for up to one year, if you’re convicted of flying a drone while drunk. The new law that was passed by the country’s parliament last week aims to curb the growing use (or misuse) of drones. Pilots convicted of drunk drone flying can also face a fine of up to ¥300,000 which is about $2,763 USD.

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Commercial drone use is set to take off in Japan with deregulation. The Japanese government had revised the aviation rules last September to promote the use of drones for commercial applications. Back in November last year we wrote about the Japan Post Co. that had started transporting documents by drone in Fukushima, Japan. Now, during the Japan Drone 2019 event, there is more news about commercial drone applications coming from the far east.

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