The Hong Kong online news media HK01 Network on November 30, reported that the Japanese government had decided to replace all unmanned aircraft that provincial governments operated with more secure Japanese products. It is effectively decommissioning around one thousand China-made unmanned aircraft. This “re-evaluation” process is set to start in 2021. These aircraft took videos, photos and saved flying records. This information was then transferred via the communications network. With the deployment of 5G technology, the risk of network-based information leaks is expected to increase. Chinese unmanned aircraft vendor DJI has been the subject of such topics as security leaks for a few years now. In 2017, the United States Army ordered an immediate stop to the use of DJI products. The new Japanese government policy review will identify “critical tasks” that should use higher security standards, such as defense, a criminal investigation, intelligence, topography, emergency rescues and more. Current unmanned aircraft will have to be replaced according to the new rules. The new rules will also include an added procurement process for future purchases, which will require a cabinet-level risk assessment to evaluate “supply chain risk.” This past spring, the Japanese government conducted a study on government use of unmanned aircraft and found around 1,000 DJI products. Government officials also explained that, even for work not listed as “critical tasks,” in principle, the government should still use domestic products.
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