Drone no-fly zones in Japan: the 1,000 m rule and the eight designated airports

What changed on 14 July 2026

The National Police Agency says the amending Act - Act No. 47 of Reiwa 8 - was passed on 17 June 2026, promulgated on 24 June 2026 and came into force on 14 July 2026. It widened the area that can be designated as the "surrounding area" around a covered site to the site's premises or area plus generally about 1,000 m around it.

The same amendment added two kinds of site to the law: facilities where designated special VIPs are staying, and venues used to prepare and run international conferences. The NPA also states that designation notices for the 485 sites that were already covered facilities were gazetted on 3 July 2026 and took effect on 14 July 2026.

Which sites and airports are covered

The law covers national important facilities such as the Diet, the Prime Minister's Office, the Supreme Court and the Imperial Palace, buildings of crisis-management agencies, designated party offices, foreign missions, defence-related facilities including Self-Defense Forces and U.S. forces sites, airports, and nuclear sites. Flight is prohibited over the site itself (the red zone) and over the surrounding area (the yellow zone).

For airports, the transport ministry designated eight: New Chitose, Narita, Tokyo International (Haneda), Chubu Centrair, Osaka Itami, Kansai, Fukuoka and Naha. The ministry's page records that the designation was gazetted on 3 July 2026 and applied from 14 July 2026.

How to check the exact boundary

The areas are not a simple circle. MLIT Notice No. 813 of Reiwa 8, dated 3 July 2026, lists each airport's red zone and yellow zone by district or area name and refers to drawings, which the ministry keeps and publishes. For Naha Airport, for example, the notice lists named districts in Naha City and Tomigusuku City plus a sea area defined by coordinates - the zones do not cover whole towns.

The Geospatial Information Authority of Japan publishes the red and yellow zones as a map layer that you can zoom in on, and the police agency points to the same map. Check the exact location there, then confirm with the site manager and the airspace authority if you are near a boundary.

If you still plan to fly

Flying in a designated surrounding area needs the consent of the site or airport manager and prior notification to the prefectural public safety commission, at least 48 hours before the flight except in a disaster or other emergency. For Naha Airport the manager contact published by MLIT is the Naha Airport Office, Aviation Security and Disaster Prevention Section, telephone 098-859-5110, weekdays 9:00-17:00.

MLIT states that flying without those procedures can lead to removal orders or interference measures, and to a penalty of up to one year's imprisonment or a fine of up to 500,000 yen. Our other guide, Flying a drone in Japan: registration, zones and permissions, covers the separate Civil Aeronautics Act side: registration, flight permission, the flight plan, the logbook and the DIPS 2.0 portal.