Japan License

[SpinRush]

Hello again, pilots! I LOVE my Mavic Air. It is the ultimate camera. Combined with my DJI OSMO on the ground, I’m taking pictures I never thought I could do.

Good news: I found a drone training center near where I live. Last week’s efforts have proven fruitful. Japan Drone Facebook contacted and gave me a website to check out. Drosse.jp. I can go there and get a license!

Bad news: There are two tests, written and practical flight test. More bad news. It’s going to cost over a thousand bucks easy.

Good news: If I pass those tests, the license is issued by the Ministry of Land and Transportation in Japan. I believe that would make it much easier for me to get approval to fly around certain areas that normally might be restricted. Maybe even for commercial purposes.

Bad news. It cost over a thousand bucks.

Even though it’s not required to have a drone pilot license in Japan, the fact that they even have a course and official license says to me that they may require licenses in the future.

Furthermore, they didn’t say how long the license is good for. Hopefully I don’t have to drop over a thousand bucks again in the future. That would be more bad news.

I’ll follow up on this topic if all goes well. I’m pretty sure I’m going to go for it. It just sucks that it’s over a thousand bucks.

If you have some info about this topic please chime in. I’m listening.

 

[keio]

I also researched a lot on this topic as - and you know it like me as you live there too ^^ - the lack of spots authorized to fly (even in the so-called white zones of the map) + the hundreds of local municipal laws make it a nightmare to find some place to train, and most of time you only find some schools, "academy" lol... As far as i could find out, the license might in deed help a bit to hurry up the process with the MLIT authorization, but it's over-expensive as well as the fees to train in their rotten hangars (speaking from the so-called privately owned drone areas...) going from 5k to 10k a half day... And again yes, like you i think from what i read that there will be soon registration system and even more hardening of the laws, sadly. I'm currently in the double process of researching the different japanese drone communities and finding some free spots in the nature even if i have to take a train for 2h, but all of the "osusume" spots from the last years (including seranova's ones) are now forbidden, like Okutama dam.

 

[SpinRush]

Keio, it is very difficult. If I just want to practice, I can go back to my drone school and practice for free. That’s inside a rotten hanger, hahaha.

If a drone pilot posted online where he made his video, there’s a good chance a bureaucrat will try to ban that area. I hate to be the one to tell you this Keio, but your bureaucrats like to brainwash you into thinking “I probably can’t”.

Ultimately, you may need to do a couple of things to continue to train. Here’s some advice:
Change your lifestyle! Use a small car. Get up at 3am and get to your destination as the Sun comes up. YES, I said 3AM! Bureaucrats and “Rougai” don’t get up at that time! Be ahead of the World! This is very reason why you think differently to begin with.

Buy a Mavic MINI - 199g, small, low profile, and absolutely great for training. Don’t be confused by specs. Flying a bigger drone doesn’t mean it’s more difficult. It just means it has more features. A DJI Mavic MINI is great for training. It does not have any sensors.

Find your local hobby shop! They know where model plane pilots like to go. Those same people will welcome you and your drone. Tam Tam is NOT the place. Drone Schools will not tell you where you can fly for free. ( suicide ). Get connected to TRUE Hobby Shops.

Last thing! Make your drone school help you. If you paid money, then they can help with application. Last year, I made a general application to MLIT. I was not totally specific, but it was approved that I could fly pretty much anywhere I want to ( other than airports, military, government ). So basically, if I want to go take a picture of the ocean, cliffs, mountains, etc, I can do that.

I know Drone Schools are overpriced, but please remember we are a small minority of drone pilots in the grand scheme of things. Those schools have to justify their existence by making sure that after you take those lessons, you’ll be granted permission to fly.

 

[keio]

Keio, it is very difficult. If I just want to practice, I can go back to my drone school and practice for free. That’s inside a rotten hanger, hahaha.

If a drone pilot posted online where he made his video, there’s a good chance a bureaucrat will try to ban that area. I hate to be the one to tell you this Keio, but your bureaucrats like to brainwash you into thinking “I probably can’t”.

Ultimately, you may need to do a couple of things to continue to train. Here’s some advice:
Change your lifestyle! Use a small car. Get up at 3am and get to your destination as the Sun comes up. YES, I said 3AM! Bureaucrats and “Rougai” don’t get up at that time! Be ahead of the World! This is very reason why you think differently to begin with.

Buy a Mavic MINI - 199g, small, low profile, and absolutely great for training. Don’t be confused by specs. Flying a bigger drone doesn’t mean it’s more difficult. It just means it has more features. A DJI Mavic MINI is great for training. It does not have any sensors.

Find your local hobby shop! They know where model plane pilots like to go. Those same people will welcome you and your drone. Tam Tam is NOT the place. Drone Schools will not tell you where you can fly for free. ( suicide ). Get connected to TRUE Hobby Shops.

Last thing! Make your drone school help you. If you paid money, then they can help with application. Last year, I made a general application to MLIT. I was not totally specific, but it was approved that I could fly pretty much anywhere I want to ( other than airports, military, government ). So basically, if I want to go take a picture of the ocean, cliffs, mountains, etc, I can do that.

I know Drone Schools are overpriced, but please remember we are a small minority of drone pilots in the grand scheme of things. Those schools have to justify their existence by making sure that after you take those lessons, you’ll be granted permission to fly.

Thanks for all these explanations, buddy, but i'm like you an expat ! So, there are not my bureaucrats, but i get it, really. Those brainless lemmings only know to "dame" things, never thinking further. A friend of mine (also expat) used to say about his kaisha : "we make meetings to decide when we'll do the next meeting"... That tells a lot about how things work here. Sadly, i don't have a car, no need for it as i'm living in the wards, i didn't even bother to translate my license. And to get out early is no problem but to get out of this darn red zone is impossible by feet. As for the drone, i'm not rich, and the difference of few dbs between the MM and the MA2 is not worth the 60k for another drone. I hesitated a while between both before deciding myself for the mini. The reason why i chose the MA2 is the superior quality of footages + features, and also the longer autonomy and range. Even japanese YouTubers start to say that the mini is interesting for price/quality but lesser for the 199g argument, as with all the restrictions and the local laws, it doesn't matter really, you can only fly a bit higher thats it.

I already checked a few "academies" but their horrible fees are repulsive, i cannot invest 150k in such a bs license. All those guys are only using these authoritarian laws to make okane, as usual in Japan. I agree that you can as a beginner learn a few things there, but more than that ? hhhmm... I mean, i watched thousand of videos, went like 68483164 times to Yodobashi discussing with sellers with the last 3 years, read hundreds of threads and regulations knowing i'll have to face this sooner or later. Don't get me wrong, if i would have the money, i'd probably do it, just to get faster to fly and maybe to get few tips and experience + a potential bonus for future applications at MLIT. But sadly i don't. Also, i must confess that despite being fluent in 3 languages, i never mastered nihongo, even for conversational/daily. I'm good enough for the combini or asking my way, but impossible to really discut, so making exams in Japanese, no way.

Question : what do you mean with "general application" ? Is it a one time thing to get rid of asking each time u wanna fly somewhere ? If that's the case, you've awaken my interest, as the drone is not only for fun in my case, i have a website about Japan and it's first a new tool to increase my shootings. Obviously, i intend to apply in the future for a few tokyo views (need first experience though, as they require registered 10h flight iirc). The thing is, i travel a lot inside Japan and abroad, and shoot a lot (D750 with UWA), so the MA2 was more of a investment, which is also a reason more for my frustration not being able to fly for training. If only they would allow night flying in parks with a 20-30m height limit... Thats what i was doing back in 2013-2014 as i have a few parks around.

For the hobby shop, well, my wife bought the beast at Yodobashi which is my usual electronic shop, will have to check whats around in Shinjuku or Shibuya, as i doubt to find anything near my home. Anyway, thanks a lot for all the tips, i hope we can meet one of these days, and maybe fly together ! =)

 

[SpinRush]

Thanks for all these explanations, buddy, but i'm like you an expat ! So, there are not my bureaucrats, but i get it, really. Those brainless lemmings only know to "dame" things, never thinking further. A friend of mine (also expat) used to say about his kaisha : "we make meetings to decide when we'll do the next meeting"... That tells a lot about how things work here. Sadly, i don't have a car, no need for it as i'm living in the wards, i didn't even bother to translate my license. And to get out early is no problem but to get out of this darn red zone is impossible by feet. As for the drone, i'm not rich, and the difference of few dbs between the MM and the MA2 is not worth the 60k for another drone. I hesitated a while between both before deciding myself for the mini. The reason why i chose the MA2 is the superior quality of footages + features, and also the longer autonomy and range. Even japanese YouTubers start to say that the mini is interesting for price/quality but lesser for the 199g argument, as with all the restrictions and the local laws, it doesn't matter really, you can only fly a bit higher thats it.

I already checked a few "academies" but their horrible fees are repulsive, i cannot invest 150k in such a bs license. All those guys are only using these authoritarian laws to make okane, as usual in Japan. I agree that you can as a beginner learn a few things there, but more than that ? hhhmm... I mean, i watched thousand of videos, went like 68483164 times to Yodobashi discussing with sellers with the last 3 years, read hundreds of threads and regulations knowing i'll have to face this sooner or later. Don't get me wrong, if i would have the money, i'd probably do it, just to get faster to fly and maybe to get few tips and experience + a potential bonus for future applications at MLIT. But sadly i don't. Also, i must confess that despite being fluent in 3 languages, i never mastered nihongo, even for conversational/daily. I'm good enough for the combini or asking my way, but impossible to really discut, so making exams in Japanese, no way.

Question : what do you mean with "general application" ? Is it a one time thing to get rid of asking each time u wanna fly somewhere ? If that's the case, you've awaken my interest, as the drone is not only for fun in my case, i have a website about Japan and it's first a new tool to increase my shootings. Obviously, i intend to apply in the future for a few tokyo views (need first experience though, as they require registered 10h flight iirc). The thing is, i travel a lot inside Japan and abroad, and shoot a lot (D750 with UWA), so the MA2 was more of a investment, which is also a reason more for my frustration not being able to fly for training. If only they would allow night flying in parks with a 20-30m height limit... Thats what i was doing back in 2013-2014 as i have a few parks around.

For the hobby shop, well, my wife bought the beast at Yodobashi which is my usual electronic shop, will have to check whats around in Shinjuku or Shibuya, as i doubt to find anything near my home. Anyway, thanks a lot for all the tips, i hope we can meet one of these days, and maybe fly together ! =)

You can find me at SpinRush RC on YouTube. Also SpinRush_C1 on YouTube. I’m diverse in my hobbies. Tuning cars, flying drones, running RC cars, and just recently, I leased some farmland here in the Saitama area.

LET NOTHING HOLD YOU BACK BRO!

I’m also on Facebook - SpinRush. I’m a member of Drone Pilots Japan and Japan Drone Association. If you get on Facebook, I can show you what a MLIT approved application looks like. I won’t post it here.

Again, you do NOT need a license to fly a drone. However, everybody NEEDs common sense. We just have to be smarter than everybody else when it comes to our hobbies and pastimes. About speaking Japanese, don’t worry too much about that. If you know how they think, who cares what comes out of their mouths. I can spot a Rougai / Bureaucrat a mile away. This is NOT America, the police aren’t coming. Furthermore, I’ve come to understand that unless people have the time and/or energy to joykill, they probably won’t look for you.

Find the remote spot, get in the air above 40 meters, get the shots you want and get out of there. One can learn everything you need to know about Japanese with one visit to Nikko Shrine’s 3 monkeys.

Reading your post has me charging batteries right now to go out and fly early in the morning. Hope it doesn’t rain.
Congratulations on the Mavic Air 2 btw. I want OcuSync 2.0 so much! That’s so important. Also, I think you have local aircraft warning information as well. I’m curious if that works both ways, you see them, they see you?

You are welcome to come fly with me anytime. Training is important. When you do practical training, you’ll quickly learn that anybody can go out there and fly in the open. Trained / experience drone pilots can control a drone to precision, no sensors, no GPS.

 

[keio]

Haha ! Yeah, the infamous 老害... They are everywhere, i suspect them to belong to old ninja clans as they always pop from nowhere to forbid you something. ^^
Sadly, you confirm with your ? ? ? and 40m in and out story what i was slowly starting to realize after weeks of research... Tbh, my plan was to take a bus to Kawaguchiko, then go to the northern shores (no shops, buildings, people) or even to Saiko, and find a remote spot to take off and make my way in the air then move on between each battery change. I just wish i would find some accessible free zone to train, i don't even care about the scenary, but whereever i check, if it's out of the red zone, there is some individual local ban... Basically, between those little laws and the main laws, the owners of whatever forgotten field, forest, mount u can find, there will always be somebody to tell you that you can't fly here, because abunai or some other 101 reason. About the MA2, yes, that was also an important point with ocusync, because i read many crash/lost control stories with the MM.

 

[SpinRush]

Haha ! Yeah, the infamous 老害... They are everywhere, i suspect them to belong to old ninja clans as they always pop from nowhere to forbid you something. ^^
Sadly, you confirm with your ? ? ? and 40m in and out story what i was slowly starting to realize after weeks of research... Tbh, my plan was to take a bus to Kawaguchiko, then go to the northern shores (no shops, buildings, people) or even to Saiko, and find a remote spot to take off and make my way in the air then move on between each battery change. I just wish i would find some accessible free zone to train, i don't even care about the scenary, but whereever i check, if it's out of the red zone, there is some individual local ban... Basically, between those little laws and the main laws, the owners of whatever forgotten field, forest, mount u can find, there will always be somebody to tell you that you can't fly here, because abunai or some other 101 reason. About the MA2, yes, that was also an important point with ocusync, because i read many crash/lost control stories with the MM.

Mavic MINI crashes. There are many bad pilots out there. NO IMU check, no calibration check. Some guys don’t even have the patience to hover before takeoff. They don’t control tests, listen to the props. Then there’s maintenance that needs to be done. Mavic MINI is a lot better than the stories that you hear.

 

[keio]

Mavic MINI crashes. There are many bad pilots out there. NO IMU check, no calibration check. Some guys don’t even have the patience to hover before takeoff. They don’t control tests, listen to the props. Then there’s maintenance that needs to be done. Mavic MINI is a lot better than the stories that you hear.

Might be, i have no experience to confirm or infirm, but you know the saying : no smoke without fire. As i don't know, i'm careful, and i thought MA2 has more to offer and is maybe more reliable, but this was only a secondary reason, my decision was mainly based on the video/range/features.

 

[xian6]

Hello again, pilots! I LOVE my Mavic Air. It is the ultimate camera. Combined with my DJI OSMO on the ground, I’m taking pictures I never thought I could do.

Good news: I found a drone training center near where I live. Last week’s efforts have proven fruitful. Japan Drone Facebook contacted and gave me a website to check out. Drosse.jp. I can go there and get a license!

Bad news: There are two tests, written and practical flight test. More bad news. It’s going to cost over a thousand bucks easy.

Good news: If I pass those tests, the license is issued by the Ministry of Land and Transportation in Japan. I believe that would make it much easier for me to get approval to fly around certain areas that normally might be restricted. Maybe even for commercial purposes.

Bad news. It cost over a thousand bucks.

Even though it’s not required to have a drone pilot license in Japan, the fact that they even have a course and official license says to me that they may require licenses in the future.

Furthermore, they didn’t say how long the license is good for. Hopefully I don’t have to drop over a thousand bucks again in the future. That would be more bad news.

I’ll follow up on this topic if all goes well. I’m pretty sure I’m going to go for it. It just sucks that it’s over a thousand bucks.

If you have some info about this topic please chime in. I’m listening.

Have the laws now changed in japan and a license is mandatory? I live here too and got a mavic pro a few years back and have heard now it’s strict with needing a pilots license.
Was the test you took in English and/or the written test in English?

 

[keio]

Have the laws now changed in japan and a license is mandatory? I live here too and got a mavic pro a few years back and have heard now it’s strict with needing a pilots license.
Was the test you took in English and/or the written test in English?

I'll let Spin answer with more details than me, as he's the one with a license here, but afaik there is still no mandatory license to be able to fly a drone in Japan. Demo... (BUT ! ^^) even though there are a lot of white zones on the official fly map where you supposely can fly -still under the national restrictions- your drone, fact is that there are also tons of "local" restrictions case by case for each prefecture/town. I was in Hokkaido last July, which is pretty large and lesser populated, and has lots of space, forests, etc, and still got confronted to many no-fly signs everywhere. We had several talks on this topic with Spin, and i think that for us living here, getting a license is not a bad idea as it helps with getting fly authorizations easier from JCAB, and allows us to learn a few tips, flying without GPS, etc. Spin introduced me to his school and i must say they were cool, professional and really interesting. Now, regarding exam and language : my Japanese is sadly still pretty bad, and the guy i spoke with at the school wasn't speaking English well, but we both could understand each another and he was pretty confident i could make it. The exam is in Japanese only everywhere (for now, might change in the future) but it's not limited in time. I was waiting for the temperatures to go down a bit in order to visit another nearby school to see what they propose and how the atmosphere is, and decide afterwards which of them i'll go to.

 

[xian6]

Thanks for the insight. I’ve also been stopped in parks (that on the drone map app for japan indicate white zone) by civilians with the big BATTSU DAME NO! Arm cross X above their head. And like you said each town and ward make up their own rules and a lot of the beaches down near me in Kanagawa have No Drone signs up.
That’s the Urawa, Saitama school?
So even with a license, you would still need all the paperwork to schedule a flight within a restricted area I’m guessing...

If only Japan could update to 2020, or even 2010, and have the written part online in multiple languages (as you said it’s timeless)

 

[keio]

Yep, thats the one. And yes, for us poor "tokyojin", we'll have no choice as to get authorizations/fill papers... I tried to get few more infos from JCAB, as i heard about a yearly authorization Japan-wide, but couldn't get any clear information, only 101 bs aka copy-paste from the official 1-page (in English only for sure) on their website... And only after more than a month and a 2nd email reminding them i was still waiting for an answer. Not really serious for officials...
However, i feel you, but i'm afraid there is not much chance to see things changing in good around here in the future, except if some money gain involved (okane ha okami desu ne ?). Fact is that there are everywhere signs, everywhere local restrictions. Government said last year (?) to the prefectures "do as you think is best" and as Japanese politicians never want to take any risk (responsability?), they thought "hhhhm, doron ha abunai, dame desu" : easier to simply ban something as to think about some plan, resulting in a shadow ban all over the country. Most of spots which were to see on videos until last year are now banned (ex: enoshima, okutama dam, etc), because each time some bureaucrat see one of those videos or someone flying, they hurry to put a sign. The result is nobody share locations anymore, and Japanese slowly but surely redirect themselves in indoor flying competions, which is absolutely not what i want to do with my drone.
Regulation is good and has to be, but it must be done intelligently. As i tried to suggest to them (JCAB), rogue flights will continue (mostly foreigners) and we 'locals' are somehow punished for it. They should provide some ground to fly and train safely, soften the restrictions with conditions (for ex, most of us are flying DJI devices which are equiped with geo locks, so why not making zones where you would be allowed to fly with a height and radius limit ?). Abe did try to move in this direction a bit, deregulating some parts in Chiba, but it's all somehow still greyzone, as again, local restrictions came in and sabotaged that too. There is a demand for aerial footages or drone services (fields spraying, security, 3D mapping, real estate, tourism promotion etc) but they don't have pilots. All footages you see in TV/on the web are generally from NHK etc, if not from foreigners ignoring (voluntary ?) the rules.
I searched for months drone-friendly zones, but each time only found outdated posts or copy-pasted informations about japanese regulations, which doesn't help at all. At this point, i'm out of ideas. I will take the exam to open some doors, with the hope i'll be able to establish some contacts too, and see where i could decently train and get footage oportunities. Except that, i have a few spots i want to try, but as you can guess, at some point i guess, somebody will come while i'm flying in a non red zone to tell me it's forbidden to fly there too...

 

[SpinRush]

Have the laws now changed in japan and a license is mandatory? I live here too and got a mavic pro a few years back and have heard now it’s strict with needing a pilot's license.
Was the test you took in English and/or the written test in English?

Sorry for the late reply! Having a license is basically to help with getting approval when you would otherwise be denied. You can still fly in certain zones, but believe me when I tell you that Japan is trying to make everything restricted. It's not just the government as you might imagine. There are petty individuals out there, people who are out to get money from you, and people who take issue with everyone and everything.

A large majority of us are interested in flying the drone to take photos and videos. In our hearts, we feel that this country is beautiful. However, the day is coming when just about anything you post can be considered copyright. YouTube has a broken copyright system right now and most of the YouTubers I know are very upset about it. It won't stop there either. Facial recognition and scenery recognition will one lead to everybody and everything getting tagged in a video.

Get your license, get your damage insurance in case of an accident. Be as legal as you possibly can.

Depending on what school you go to the test will be in English or Japanese. It all depends on whether or not JCAB, MILT approves of that school's test. It's not a driver's license.

On a side note, I have to talk to some friends of mine soon. They posted a video and they used a drone. The drone footage was incredible UNTIL....UNTIL I saw how high they were and the helicopter was BELOW the drone! WTF?!?!?! They were way above 150m. If they had been caught or discovered or if they get caught ( Video Online ), that will spell disaster and more bureaucracy to come.