Police Eager to Publicize Ban on Flying Drones near Osaka-Kansai Expo; Multilingual Events Held to Raise Awareness

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:56 JST, June 24, 2025

OSAKA — The Osaka prefectural police is making efforts to keep people informed about an Osaka prefectural ordinance banning drones from being flown near the venue of the Osaka-Kansai Expo.

With many foreign nationals visiting the Expo, the prefectural police believe it is important to publicize the ordinance to non-Japanese as well as Japanese people.

Under the ordinance, flying drones without authorization is prohibited in a 1-kilometer radius around Yumeshima, the artificial island on which the Expo venue is built. A fine of up to ¥500,000 is among the penalties that can be applied to those who violate the ordinance. To enforce the no-drone measures, the prefectural police have formed a unit equipped with a jamming system that can make it impossible to navigate a drone in the area.

On June 18, members of the prefectural police’s rugby team and others distributed flyers explaining the ordinance to pedestrians at Yumeshima Station on the Osaka Metro Chuo Line, which is near the Expo venue. They also used loudspeakers to inform people about the ban in four languages — Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean.

The next day, Suminoe Police Station held an event on the ordinance at Cosmosquare Station on the same subway line. The event was attended by Expo mascot Myaku-Myaku and the police station’s mascot Noe-nyan. The mascots and police officers from the station handed out 100 flyers to residents and visitors.

“If a drone crashes, it could hurt visitors or damage facilities,” said an official of the prefectural police. “For the sake of safety and security, we’re asking for people’s understanding and cooperation.”