[JAL] (Joint release) “Resident services using drones in Setouchi Town, Amami Oshima during normal times and in response to emergencies” wins the 7th Japan Open Innovation Awards “Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Award”
JAL Press release: February 7, 2025 (Joint release) “Resident services using drones in Setouchi Town, Amami Oshima during normal times and in response to emergencies” received the “Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Award” at the 7th Japan Open Innovation Awards. ～Industry-government-academia collaboration efforts were highly praised for creating a sustainable town where “everyone wants to continue living”～
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/30684/1180/30684-1180-85ff808276bf6e3215f42b6948319527-1177×132.png February 6, 2025 Setouchi Town Japan Airlines Co., Ltd. Amami Island Drone Co., Ltd. National Research and Development Agency National Research Institute for Disaster Prevention Science and Technology National University Corporation University of Tsukuba Japan Airlines Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as JAL), Amami Island Drone Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as AID), Setouchi Town, Oshima District, Kagoshima Prefecture (hereinafter referred to as Setouchi Town), National Research and Development Agency National Research Institute for Disaster Prevention (hereinafter referred to as Disaster Prevention Science and Technology Research Institute), National University Corporation Tsukuba University (hereinafter referred to as University of Tsukuba) ) received the Minister of Land,
Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Award at the 7th Japan Open Innovation Awards sponsored by the Cabinet Office on February 5, 2025, for their joint efforts in “Using drones to provide resident services for peacetime and emergency response in Setouchi Town, Amami Oshima.”
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/30684/1180/30684-1180-e051fca66c8319206c2c895fb845eec1-1027×414.png Japan Open Innovation Awards honors initiatives with a high level of initiative and originality that are expected to serve as role models in order to further promote open innovation in Japan.The Minister’s Award, Director-General’s Award, President’s Award of economic organizations, academic organizations, and other awards are given to those who are exemplary, have a large social impact, and are sustainable. This initiative was highly rated as a pioneering project in which industry, government, and academia collaborate to contribute to Setouchi Town’s goal of creating a sustainable town that “everyone wants to continue living in,” including solving regional-specific issues such as disaster response and logistics on remote islands.It was also highly praised for its potential to be developed as a model for other remote islands, aging regions, isolated areas during disasters, and disaster prevention response.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/30684/1180/30684-1180-ad9767ee628a23e740576f8813b04675-1138×270.png Drones supporting island life in Amami Setouchi Town during peacetime and emergencies ■About this initiative [Summary] In November 2023, Setouchi Town and JAL jointly established AID, a drone operating company, in Setouchi Town, Amami Oshima, and has been providing administrative services to residents using drones and ICT technology since February 2024. In order to respond to issues ranging from disaster prevention to daily logistics, we are building a phase-free drone logistics infrastructure that does not distinguish between disaster and normal times, and are working in collaboration with industry, government, and academia to create a sustainable town where everyone wants to continue living, such as maintaining medical services in remote areas through ICT collaboration that involves residents.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/30684/1180/30684-1180-ba6c3676c469b6c3a73f423d09c5ccef-939×801.png
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/30684/1180/30684-1180-58c1c96319bfc5c826546f8b31f5370f-865×712.png [Past history] Due to its geographical conditions, Setouchi Town, mainly on secondary islands (Kakeroma Island, Yoro Island, Uke Island), has suffered from regional issues ranging from disaster prevention to daily life, such as road closures resulting in isolated villages during natural disasters such as typhoons and heavy rains.Moreover, even in normal times, movement and transportation that relies on ships takes time and is frequently stopped due to weather. In 2020, Setouchi Town, whose population is declining and aging, entered into a partnership agreement (*1) with the JAL Group as it aims to create a sustainable town that “everyone wants to continue living in.” In order to solve these local community issues, we aimed to socially implement a remote island model using drones and digital technology, and in collaboration with the Disaster Prevention Science Research Institute and the University of Tsukuba, we conducted repeated joint studies and demonstrations with the participation of local residents. In November 2023, Setouchi Town and JAL jointly established AID, a drone operating company, and began regular operations in February 2024, providing administrative services for residents using drones and ICT collaboration, ranging from disaster prevention to daily logistics (*2). AID uses large logistics drones with excellent cruising range and payload to match the geography of the remote islands and the characteristics of the cargo to be transported, and while receiving know-how from JAL in drone operation management, safety management, etc., AID has built a phase-free operation system that can respond to Yorojima and Ukeshima during disasters and normal times. This kind of drone utilization and ICT collaboration is reflected in local disaster prevention plans, and contributes to sustainable town development by maintaining medical services in remote areas by introducing online medication guidance for prescription drugs. We will continue to build on the safe and secure drone operation business using AID in Setouchi Town, and aim to expand this initiative to the entire Amami Islands as a social implementation model that utilizes drones and ICT rooted in the region. (*1)Press release October 14, 2020 Amami Setouchi Town, Japan Air Commuter, JAL, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance, and MS&AD InterRisk Research Institute sign collaboration agreement, aiming to solve regional issues using drones (*2)Press release on February 29, 2023 Amami Setouchi Town and JAL jointly establish drone operating company “Amami Island Drone Co., Ltd.”
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/30684/1180/30684-1180-60e89fddfb3a20a600768c10f2c1a31c-1018×232.png ■ Comments from the winners Amami Oshima Setouchi Town Mayor Kamata Mistress The town of Honmachi, which has three inhabited remote islands, has had issues such as the cancellation of municipal liners and the isolation of villages during disasters, but we would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone at Japan Airlines, the Disaster Prevention Science Institute, and the University of Tsukuba for working with the town to solve these problems using large drones, which led to us receiving this award. In accordance with the “Setouchi Town DX Promotion Plan,” the town is working on a digital-first approach to not only drones but also various government services. Among these, we would like to take this award as an opportunity to further promote our drone business in areas such as disaster relief, material transportation, cadastral surveys, forest surveys, and smart agriculture. Japan Airlines Co., Ltd. Innovation Headquarters Air Mobility Creation Department Manager Hitoshi Murakoshi For more than 60 years since the launch of the Kagoshima-Amami Oshima route, the JAL Group has worked with local residents to promote the appeal of the Amami archipelago, attract tourists to the islands, and engage in environmental conservation activities. In 2020, we were approached by the Town of Setouchi and entered into a collaboration agreement with the aim of solving local issues through drone initiatives that utilize the technology and knowledge we have cultivated in the aviation business.Since then, we have been promoting this initiative with the support of many related organizations and companies. Encouraged by this award, we will continue to support Setouchi Town and AID’s efforts to promote DX through safe and secure drone operation support. Amami Island Drone Co., Ltd. Representative Director Toshifumi Toshima All of our employees are deeply moved by this prestigious award, which will take place at the end of February, which marks the one-year anniversary of our launch. Our company is contracted by the Town of Setouchi to operate drones, transporting daily necessities such as prescription drugs, school lunch ingredients, and newspapers to secondary remote islands such as Yorojima and Ukejima.In addition, in the event of a disaster, we are also responsible for reconnaissance of the disaster situation and transportation of emergency supplies as part of the town’s disaster prevention response.We are developing a drone business that “supports island life from the air.” With the support of our partners, we will continue to strive to develop drone human resources in order to promote locally-based business operations, further strengthen our safe operation system, and contribute to resolving local issues on the island. National Research and
Development Agency National Research Institute for Disaster Prevention Science and Technology Chief Specialist Shoichiro Uchiyama I am very honored to have received this prestigious award. This project is based on the philosophy of “local production and local defense,” which protects local disaster prevention locally, as advocated by the Disaster Prevention Science Research Institute, and has aimed to create a phase-free system that can be used from normal times to disasters as an innovation that leverages the power of local communities. Encouraged by this award, we will continue to grow together with the local community and continue to take on the challenge of realizing a safe and sustainable society. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to everyone involved for their support. National University Corporation University of Tsukuba Computational Science Research Center Professor Itaru Kitahara We were involved in this project through the activities of the “5D-MaaS co-creation base to realize a phase-free ultra-flexible society,” which aims to build a mobility society that can respond phase-free from normal times to disasters. We held a community participation workshop in collaboration with industry, government, and academia, and had fun envisioning the future brought about by next-generation mobility with local children. We would like to thank everyone involved for their efforts that led to receiving such a wonderful award. More
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