Drone flights to be banned for Hiroshima peace ceremony

The National Police Agency said Friday that it would temporarily designate the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima as a no-fly zone for drones during the Aug. 6 annual peace ceremony commemorating the 1945 U.S. atomic bombing of the city.

Specifically, unauthorized drone flights will be banned Aug. 5-6 at the park and within an area extending 1 kilometer from it.

This is the first time for the NPA to designate such a drone flight restriction area under the revised drone regulation law enacted in June.

In addition, the NPA plans to designate such an area for the Aug. 9 peace memorial ceremony in the southwestern city of Nagasaki, which was also devastated by a U.S. atomic bombing in 1945 in the closing days of World War II.

Under the amended law, the NPA commissioner-general is now authorized to designate venues for events attended by the prime minister or the emperor as areas where drone flights are prohibited. Previously, measures were taken on a case-by-case basis depending on the level of risk, but the new system allows for immediate action the moment a drone enters a prohibited zone, thereby improving the effectiveness of security measures.