Press Release

Joint release

Setouchi Town
Japan Airline Co., Ltd.
Amami Island Drone Co., Ltd.

Setouchi Town, Oshima District, Kagoshima Prefecture (Mayor: Naruhito Kamada, hereinafter
Setouchi Town) and Japan Airlines Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, President: Yuji
Akasaka, hereinafter JAL) jointly established the drone operation company “Amami Island Drones
Co., Ltd.” (Headquarters: Setouchi Town, Oshima District, Kagoshima Prefecture, Representative
Director: Toshifumi Toshima, hereinafter Amami Island Drones) on November 30, 2023. The company
will begin providing drone-based services to residents in Amami Setouchi Town starting from February
29, 2024.

Setouchi Town, aiming to create a sustainable town where “everyone wants to continue living,” has
positioned the introduction of drone transportation as a new administrative service to ensure the
safety and security of the livelihoods and to maintain the functions of local communities. In
collaboration with the JAL Group through a partnership agreement (*1), the two parties have
conducted a series of joint studies and demonstration experiments (*2) since October 2020 with the
aim of socially implementing a remote island model utilizing drones and digital technology to solve
local social issues ranging from disaster prevention to daily life and logistics.

Setouchi Town and JAL have jointly established a drone operation company, “Amami Island Drone,”
which will provide services for island living by transporting emergency relief supplies to isolated
villages in the event of a disaster, and regularly delivering medical supplies and daily necessities to
residents during normal times.

The “Amami Island Drone” will be operated using the FAZER R G2(*3), a large logistics drone with an
excellent cruising range and payload capacities, tailored to the geographical features and
transportation needs of the town area, including the secondary remote islands of Setouchi Town
(Kakeroma Island, Uke Island, and Yoro Island). JAL will provide operational support by offering its
expertise in advanced drone operation management and safety management, including Beyond Visual
Line of Sight (BVLOS) flight remote control. JAL will also provide trained pilots during the start-up
phase to ensure safe and secure drone operations.

JAL is working on solving social issues and revitalizing local communities through air mobility initiatives.
These initiatives aim to create sustainable flows of human, commerce, and logistics by leveraging the
technology and expertise developed in the aviation industry. In the drone business in Setouchi Town,
JAL will support the development of community-based operations, including the training of drone
pilots and operational support, and expand the social implementation model of island logistics drones
to the entire Amami Islands.

The three parties will continue to contribute to regional revitalization and sustainable community
development through their drone business.

【About Amami Island Drone Co., Ltd.】
Description of Business: Drone operation to realize various services using drones
Representative Director: Toshifumi Toshima (Setouchi Town)
Establishment: November 30, 2023
Location: Setouchi Town, Oshima District, Kagoshima Prefecture

【Drone utilization in Setouchi Town - Disaster and normal time model】
■ In disaster prevention and response, drones will be used for aerial photography to assess the
situation and transport relief supplies.
■ For daily life logistics, drones will be used to transport part of the regular deliveries of medical
supplies and daily necessities to the secondary islands that heavily rely on maritime transport.
■ Both during disasters and normal times, drone transportation will be operated by Amami Island
Drone using the FAZER R G2 (*4). Based on the operation systems during normal times, quick
response to requests for transporting supplies during disasters or emergencies will be ensured.
■ Through ICT collaboration, the integration of information such as disaster information, supply
requests through smartphone application, and logistics information for daily necessities delivery
will be promoted, combining drones with digital technology.

(*1) October 14, 2020 “Setouchi-cho, Japan Air Commuter, JAL, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance, MS&AD InterRisk
to Collaborate in Drone Utilization on Remote Islands”
URL: https://press.jal.co.jp/en/release/202010/005815.html
(*2) ・August 26, 2022 “KDDI and JAL to launch Initiative to Realize One-to-Many Drone Operation”
URL：https://press.jal.co.jp/en/release/202208/006924.html
       ・November 28, 2022 “JAL conducts demonstration of drone implementation model to support island life”
URL：https://press.jal.co.jp/en/release/202211/007077.html
(*3) Yamaha Motor Corporation’s Unmanned Industrial Helicopter with Automated Navigation System
In addition to excellent payload and range performance, the helicopter is equipped with an automatic cargo separation
(cargo drop) function. The helicopter was used as a demonstration helicopter for transporting relief supplies in the
disaster relief operations by the Self-Defense Forces after the Noto Peninsula Earthquake in January 2024.
(*4) Operate using the newly established Level 3.5 flights (Beyond Visual Line of Sight operations in unmanned zones
that do not require aids, signs, etc., or a pause when crossing a road) established in December 2023.