On December 9, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism announced that it had approved grants for eight projects under the "Survey and Other Activities Related to the Transportation of Disaster Relief Supplies Using Drones" for fiscal year 2025.
<Overview of the 8 projects for which funding has been approved>
| Applicant | Service |
| Kobe Mobility Field Council | The training exercise aimed to establish procedures for transporting goods from ships to land bases using drones, assuming a scenario where docking ships at port facilities becomes difficult during a large-scale disaster. |
| Kobe Mobility Field Council | This project involved conducting drone-based material transport training at "Aina Satoyama Park" in Kita Ward, Kobe City, which was designed to simulate a disaster relief supply base, and verifying the use of winch mode for material drops in areas where landing is difficult, thereby establishing procedures for cooperation with local governments and other organizations. |
| Tokai Koubou | This involves determining landing sites at night or under haze, identifying hazardous areas along transport routes, securing safe transport routes for supplies, and establishing a pre-emptive search system for safe supply transport through joint training in cooperation with the fire department. |
| Northern Alps Drone Transportation Council | This project aims to realize low-cost delivery of supplies to mountain lodges using drones, with a view to utilizing renewable energy, and to conduct supply transport training in cooperation with local governments, with a view to concluding disaster relief agreements. |
| KIP Planning | To further develop the use of drones for transporting supplies during disasters, we have formulated flight routes targeting communities at high risk of isolation, identified and prioritized the types of goods needed immediately after a disaster, and developed operational procedures in cooperation with local governments, disaster prevention organizations, and residents. |
| NEXT DELIVERY | Targeting the eastern and southern Kyonan regions of Yamanashi Prefecture, the project aims to establish a rapid and reliable system for transporting supplies to isolated communities during large-scale disasters, based on a phase-free drone logistics infrastructure that seamlessly integrates normal and emergency situations. Specifically, it will establish a model that can be deployed nationwide through the pre-construction of drone delivery routes (coordinate acquisition) and the development of disaster procedures manuals. |
| Tamura City Drone Disaster Prevention Utilization Council | This project involves conducting drone-based material transport training in Tamura City, Fukushima Prefecture, simulating a road closure during a flood, using city hall and other administrative facilities as bases, and developing inter-regional and prefectural-level institutionalization and operational standards (guidelines) based on the training results. |
| Drone Concierge | In areas of Hida City, Gifu Prefecture, that are at risk of isolation during disasters, the local government, fire department, and residents collaborated on evacuation drills, which included transporting supplies from the fire department headquarters to isolated settlements (in front of the district community center). |
In order to ensure the smooth and rapid delivery of emergency relief supplies using drones during disasters, it is necessary to secure social acceptance of drone transport during peacetime and to consider optimal operations in situations where disaster operations are concentrated. Therefore, we will support the implementation of drone supply transport training in cooperation with related organizations such as logistics companies, local governments, and NPOs.
