Jun 20 (NHK) - Drone owners in Japan are obliged to register their craft with the government under a revised aviation law that took effect on Monday.
The registration system was introduced amid concerns over drone-related incidents and crimes. It is designed to allow the swift identification of owners or users in such cases.
The use of drones has been on the rise for distribution, security and disaster rescue purposes.
The revised Civil Aeronautics Act obliges owners to register all of their unmanned aerial vehicles weighing 100 grams or more.
Flights of unregistered vehicles are banned. Violations may be punished by imprisonment of up to one year or a fine of up to 500,000 yen, or about 3,700 dollars.
The new system requires drones to carry their registration numbers. The vehicles must also be able to use radio waves to send out data on their location and speed.
