TOKYO: Japan Post Co. on Sunday conducted the first “Level 4” drone flight in Japan, flying a drone on autopilot beyond the visible range over an inhabited area.

The flight was conducted in a parcel delivery test in the town of Okutama, western Tokyo. Japan Post aims to launch a drone delivery service at an early date.

Level 4 drone flights became legal in Japan last December, when the revised aviation law took effect, paving the way for deliveries of daily necessities in urban areas and for patrols around facilities.

In Friday’s test flight, a drone took off from the roof of a post office in Okutama and flew over nearby private houses and roads. It traveled some 4.5 kilometers on a return trip, delivering food and miscellaneous items weighing a total of 900 grams to a residence in a mountainous area.

The delivery took about 10 minutes, shorter than the approximately 30 minutes it would have taken by road.

JIJI Press