JUIDA

未来の社会をドローンとともに

ABOUT JUIDA

Contributing to the sound development of the next generation mobile industry.

President

Shinji Suzuki

Professor Emeritus, The University of Tokyo
Project Professor, Institute for Future Initiatives, The University of Tokyo

The Japan UAS Industry Development Association (JUIDA) was established in July 2014 with the aim of contributing to the sound development of the unmanned aerial vehicle industry in Japan. Subsequently, in July 2021, the scope of its business was expanded to include "Advanced Mobility Systems (AMS)," including flying cars.

JUIDA disseminate information on the latest trends and issues related to AMS in Japan and overseas through newsletters and seminars. Besides, we are focusing on safety measures and human resource education related to the operation of unmanned aircraft, including the formulation of safety guidelines that define safe operation rules and etiquette, and the issuance of JUIDA pilot certificates and JUIDA safe flight administrator certificates in the JUIDA-accredited school system. To this end, we are engaged in dialogue with the government and making recommendations to the government. 

JUIDA's membership includes companies and individuals from various fields related to AMS in Japan and abroad, as well as research institutes, universities, related ministries, and local governments. In the past few years, more and more people from different industries have joined JUIDA, and the number of members, both corporate and individual, has been expanding every year.

Since 2016, the "Japan Drone" exhibition has been held annually at Makuhari Messe hosted by JUIDA, and since 2022, the "Advanced Air Mobility Expo" has been held simultaneously, playing a major role in industry promotion as the only independent AMS exhibition in Japan. In December 2022, the first regional exhibition "Japan Drone/Advanced Air Mobility Expo in Kyushu (Fukuoka)" was held. We will continue to be actively involved in regional development activities by holding regional exhibitions and collaborating with JUIDA-accredited schools across the country.

Immediately after its establishment, JUIDA concluded MOUs with overseas organizations related to unmanned aerial systems and has exchanged various information with them through participation in overseas exhibitions and seminars, dispatches of delegations from Japan to overseas and acceptance of delegations from overseas to Japan, and distributing English newsletters. We will continue to further strengthen our ties with overseas AMS-related organizations.

In 2017, JUIDA proposed a global standard for unmanned aircraft pilot training to ISO, which was published in 2021 (ISO 23665). This is the first time that a Japanese proposal has been published as an ISO international standard for unmanned aircraft. We are currently contributing to international standardization activities as a domestic deliberative body of ISO/TC20/SC16/WG3.

In April 2020, we launched the "Technical Journal of Advanced Mobility," an online technical journal to support AMS technology and research and development. As an advanced technology accumulation medium for UAS (Unmanned Aircraft System), UAM (Urban Air Mobility), and AAM (Advanced Air Mobility), we widely publish research results in all fields to the world, and the number of accesses reaches 1000 per month. did.

Currently, the area of activity that we are placing the most emphasis on is the utilization of unmanned aerial vehicles in times of disaster. We have concluded a "Disaster Support Agreement in the Event of a Large-Scale Disaster" with the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) Eastern Army in February 2019, and have conducted joint drills and dispatched to disaster-stricken areas. With regard to the Noto Peninsula Earthquake that occurred on January 1 in 2024, based on the request from the local government in the affected area and the "Agreement on Disaster Support" with the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) 10th Division, we dispatched our integrated crisis general manager to the area and, together with partner companies, conducted a wide range of activities including searching for victims, medicine delivery, aerial photography of the affected situation, and regular monitoring of sediment dams using a drone port over a long period of time. This is the first time in Japan that unmanned aerial vehicles have been systematically operated on such a large scale during a disaster.

In Japan, the rapid decline in birthrates and the aging of society have resulted in a shrinking labor force, declining growth, shrinking markets, and declining affluence, which are serious national challenges. In response to these social issues, the government, local governments, and the private sector are cooperating to promote the Super City Digital Rural City concept, and AMS, including unmanned aerial systems, is an essential tool in this concept.

Under these circumstances, the revised Civil Aeronautics Law went into effect on December 5, 2022, allowing unmanned aircraft such as drones to fly unassisted and out of sight in manned areas, so-called Level 4 flight. This marks the beginning of a new era for various businesses using unmanned aircraft in Japan and is recognized as an epoch-making event in the world.

Due to these movements, JUIDA has maintained its existing accredited school system while providing support to schools that wish to become newly started registered training organizations. At the same time, JUIDA has assumed an important responsibility as an auditing organization for registered training institutes. We will continue our efforts to promote the utilization of the sky, to promote new industries, and to contribute to solving social issues.

Main activities of JUIDA

  • 教育
  • 市場創造
  • 安全規格
  • 国際関連

Since the establishment in July 2014, JUIDA has been actively promoting and supporting the AMS industry through 4 pillars - education, market creation, safety standard and international cooperation, based on our member network nationally and internationally.

Education

Education and Certification for Drone Operation Professionals

For the sound development of the UAV industry, JUIDA accredited schools train professionals with high operating skills and safety knowledge for UAS. With more than 200 schools nationwide, JUIDA has become a leader in the UAS education sector.In addition, 4 JUIDA test airfields are set up in Ibaraki Prefecture (Tsukuba), Saitama Prefecture (Omiya) and Tochigi Prefecture (Nasushiobara) to support the R&D of drones and human resource development.

Creation of Market

Supporting the activationof AMS industry and expanding the populationof drone users

JUIDA organizes Japan Drone Expo annually, which is Japan's largest international exhibition & conference specializing in drones. Throughout the whole year, JUIDA also organizes and supports various events, seminars and symposiums.

Safety Standards

Establishment of rules essential for the socialimplementation of UAS

The first mission since JUIDA's establishment was to formulate the safety guidelines for UAS. Until now, JUIDA has established the following guidelines.

  • Safety Guidelines for Unmanned Aircrafts (August 2015)
  • Safety Guidelines for Unmanned Aircrafts in Logistics (March 2018)

From now on, we will continue to work actively on creating rules necessary to respond to changes in industry and technology. In February 2019, JUIDA became the first organization signing agreement with the East Japan Self-Defense Forces regarding "Provisions of Large-scale Disaster Response". We have started using drones for disaster prevention and responses on sites and will continue our social contribution through the utilization of drones.

International Cooperation

Cooperation with overseas related organizations and international standardization activities

JUIDA has signed Memorandum of Understanding with 30 organizations from 20 countries (as of November 2020) and has built strong partnerships with numerous overseas AMS (including UAS and UAM) organizations in terms of information exchange and business matching etc.We also participate in the review committee for International Standardization for UAS, ISO/TC20/SC16, with the aim of establishing the global position of Japanese drone industry, and to promote Japan's first set of standardization.