28-05-2025
American filmmaker suspected of using drone to shoot Tokyo Skytree without permission
American filmmaker suspected of using drone to shoot Tokyo Skytree without permission
TOKYO (TR) – A video posted on social media earlier this month shows footage from a drone as it spins and plummets around Tokyo Skytree in Sumida Ward.
The video was posted by a male American filmmaker, but the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism tells the Sankei Shimbun (May 28) that he did not gain permission beforehand to fly the drone.
According to the land ministry, a person in charge of the Civil Aviation Bureau confirmed that the video was posted on Instagram by the U.S. videographer on May 19.
Drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles flying at altitudes of 150 meters or more above the ground or in densely populated airspace require permission under the Aviation Act, but the man had not obtained such permission.
The video also shows the drone diving and flying close to the 634-meter-tall Skytree in Sumida Ward. A ministry official said, 'This may violate the rule of maintaining a distance of at least 30 meters from third-party property as stipulated in the Aviation Act.'
The same person also posted a video on Instagram in May last year that was shot from a drone that circled Tokyo Tower and dove close to it. According to the ministry, no prior notification of that drone flight was filed then either.
Fuji News Network contacted the filmmaker about whether he had obtained permission from the government to fly the drone.
'I used the unique perspective of a drone to explore the architectural beauty of Tokyo. The Skytree is a powerful symbol that symbolizes the horizon and spirit of Tokyo,' he said by email without mentioning permission.
The land ministry is consulting with police about violations of the Aviation Act.
