Drone delivery service planned for Japan's depopulated areas by 2018

The Abe administration is stepping up efforts to improve the safety of drones as it tries to develop a delivery service using the unmanned vehicles in depopulated areas, such as remote islands, by 2018, a government source said. The cost of developing the new private-sector service is expected to be incorporated in the budget request for the fiscal year starting next April, the source said Monday. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has pledged to draw up necessary measures for the drone delivery program within the next three years. The administration sees drone-related services as a pillar to support elderly people and to deliver relief goods in disaster areas. The government is also aiming to help private-sector companies so they can start a drone home delivery service in urban areas by 2020, when Tokyo will host the Olympics, the source said.