What happens

You bring an FPV racing drone to a trade show, and when the show closes and you try to take it home, customs can stop it.

Without preparation, you may have to fly home leaving the equipment in Japan.

Why this happens

Depending on the airframe specification, an FPV drone can fall under security export control set out in the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act.

A small racing airframe whose specification stays below the list control thresholds falls outside list control.

Even outside list control, catch-all control can still apply depending on the intended use and destination, and an export licence can be required.

Whether an item is controlled is established through a check called classification.

Without that check done in advance, you have nothing to show when customs stops the shipment.

Check the official sources

These cover classification against the matrix, catch-all control, the licence application, the controlled items (unmanned aerial vehicles in Appended Table 1 of the Cabinet Order), and temporary admission for exhibits.

Bringing it into Japan

Goods brought in as exhibits are treated as a temporary import.

The sequence differs from an ordinary commercial import.

Gaps in the paperwork on the way in become compounded problems on the way out.

Taking it back out of Japan

To take the drone home after the show, the classification check has to be done.

If the drone is controlled, you apply for an export licence, and licences take time.

Starting after the show closes is too late.

Exhibits cannot simply be shipped one way.

How KUROZAKI helps

Before move-in, we run the classification check against the airframe specification.

If it is controlled, we help you through the export licence application.

We also prepare the temporary import paperwork at move-in, with the return trip already in the schedule.

If you are not sure

If you want to bring a drone as an exhibit, or you are worried about taking it home, talk to us before you exhibit.