Kumamoto earthquake relief extends drone certificate and registration validity to 27 January 2027
Drone Assistant detected a minor change in MLIT/JCAB — 無人航空機の飛行ルール（総合案内） (MLIT/JCAB), reviewed and confirmed by a human before publication. What changed on the official page: on 4 September 2026 MLIT announced relief measures following the 2026 Kumamoto earthquake. For persons whose address is in the specified disaster area (21 listed municipalities in Kumamoto Prefecture), the validity of remote pilot certificates, aircraft certifications and drone registrations is extended to 27 January 2027. Other holders are not covered. Drone Assistant added two guidance items for these measures. Also added to coverage, not new on the page: MLIT's July 2026 clarification that a bear-prevention flight may qualify for the Article 132-92 emergency exception without a confirmed sighting; that exception remains limited to government bodies and those acting at their request. The changed source is official guidance from MLIT/JCAB. It is not a new law or rule, and binding rules are unchanged by this update.
What changed
- Official page change: 1 amended passage (the page has no section numbers)
- Added to Drone Assistant coverage (not necessarily new on the page): Kumamoto earthquake relief: remote pilot certificate and aircraft certification validity extended to 27 January 2027
- Added to Drone Assistant coverage (not necessarily new on the page): Kumamoto earthquake relief: drone registration validity extended to 27 January 2027 for residents of 21 listed municipalities
- Added to Drone Assistant coverage (not necessarily new on the page): Article 132-92 emergency exception: bear-prevention flights may qualify without a confirmed sighting
How this was verified
- Official source: MLIT/JCAB — 無人航空機の飛行ルール（総合案内）
- Versions compared: 1 → 1
- Reviewed by a person before publication; automated detection alone never publishes.
- Detected by change monitoring, human reviewed
Affected requirements
- MLIT/JCAB — 無人航空機の飛行ルール（総合案内） — Kumamoto earthquake relief: remote pilot certificate and aircraft certification validity extended to 27 January 2027
- MLIT/JCAB — 無人航空機の飛行ルール（総合案内） — Article 132-92 emergency exception: bear-prevention flights may qualify without a confirmed sighting
- MLIT/JCAB — 無人航空機の飛行ルール（総合案内） — Kumamoto earthquake relief: drone registration validity extended to 27 January 2027 for residents of 21 listed municipalities