I can’t find up to date information and I see conflicting rules. One website says you must ask permission from the ministry of land and infrastructure, also :
According to the law, private property includes midair above the land. Hence, you need to ask for permission beforehand from the owner(s) of the place(s) you want to fly a drone. The private property also includes forests, mountains, public transport stations and rail tracks, riversides, schools, shrines, temples, riversides, and so on.
Private property is an obvious no-no, but if it’s a forest or mountain, doesn’t that come under the juristiction of aforementioned ministry?
I understand people don’t want the sky full of annoying drones, but they’re sold in bic, so I assume somewhere it’s allowed.
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All drones now need to be registered and labeled with remote ID. You can register it here [https://www.mlit.go.jp/koku/drone/en/](https://www.mlit.go.jp/koku/drone/en/?fbclid=IwAR0cVutXvilklP_GnFALe9dzVQ8ak3nqHHN1t7bVBtJ4xaxRNLL0X0_U7BA) It roughly takes 2-3 weeks to get registration confirmation.
Flying in cities, or flight path zones is off limits and there are many no fly zones in rural nature tourist areas as well. [https://maps.gsi.go.jp/#9/35.586890/139.336413/&base=english&ls=english%7Cdid2010%7Ckokuarea&blend=0&disp=111&lcd=kokuarea&vs=c1g1j0h0k0l0u0t0z0r0s0m0f0&d=m](https://maps.gsi.go.jp/#9/35.586890/139.336413/&base=english&ls=english%7Cdid2010%7Ckokuarea&blend=0&disp=111&lcd=kokuarea&vs=c1g1j0h0k0l0u0t0z0r0s0m0f0&d=m)
> Private property is an obvious no-no, but if it’s a forest or mountain, doesn’t that come under the juristiction of aforementioned ministry?
The context you’re missing is that 58% of forested lands are privately owned. That’s a lot of land available to fly drones as long as you get permission from the owner.
You can seafch for ドローンフィールドandドローン練習場。Designated places drones are ok. From there, you can ask about local places that allow drones. Personally, I am away from major cities. I don’t think it is allowed, but no one seems to complain when you are deep in the inaka.
I’ve acted in Japanese movies and commercials shot with drones so yeah.
I bet in your house is ok
Don’t be like an acquaintance of mine who got arrested flying a drone in near Tokyo. At the moment dealing with 3000 usd fine.
Pretty much all of inner tokyo/23 wards is off limits.
Seems too hard to fly one.
There is an app that shows the map of where you can fly. However, you must always research the place where you want to fly over as there can be local rules. For example, if you fly over a lake in a public park, check the park’s website and the city’s website for any info about flying drone(I would even check the region’s website, to be safe). And even is the map says you’re fine, there is nothing on any website, once at the park, look around for any boards or posters… I went to a park once where all looked clear and there was a poster saying “no drone flying allowed”… I fly my drone less and less because many places forbid them… Even in the countryside of Hokkaido (Biei), where I thought there really wouldn’t be any issue, their website says you need to ask authorization from each land owner, like if you were in a B zone … Also, something that surprised me is that you can’t fly over the sea, close to the coast… It’s property of the Japan coast guard and you need authorization.
It’s Japan and everything is regulated/prohibited either legally or by an unspoken rule, so any time you’re asking yourself “is X allowed here?” very high chases that it is not.