sighs as he looks at the computer screen in his city office in Mitoyo a city on the Seto Inland Sea home to thriving manufacturing and agricultural industries please disable the ad blocking feature and reload the page This website uses cookies to collect information about your visit for purposes such as showing you personalized ads and content By clicking “Accept all,” you will allow the use of these cookies Users accessing this site from EEA countries and UK are unable to view this site without your consent The use of generative AI has been rapidly expanding in various areas of society While people place high expectations on generative AI to improve convenience confusion caused by the negative impact of generative AI is spreading in people’s daily lives This is the second installment of a series which explores issues and potential countermeasures in the fields of education He is the assistant manager of the city’s environmental sanitation division His eyes are fixed on text generated by ChatGPT an interactive artificial intelligence service that the city government is running as an experiment to demonstrate the service’s capabilities In an answer to a question about how to dispose of garbage Asked about where to dispose of air conditioners and televisions “Contact the environmental sanitation division of the Kanonji city office.” The answer should have been to contact the Mitoyo city government or to take the items to a recycling company in neighboring Kanonji mentioned a nonexistent Kanonji city government department He also found that ChatGPT falsely labeled plastic natto packets as “flammable waste.” When asked how to dispose of a cell phone battery the instructions included a method that could have caused the battery to catch fire These instructions only deepened Okazaki’s concerns Mitoyo city government began experimenting with an inquiry system for garbage disposal in cooperation with the University of Tokyo laboratory specializing in generative AI which has a population of more than 60,000 has recently seen an increase in residents who speak foreign languages The inquiry system is expected to answer citizens’ questions about garbage disposal 24 hours a day in different languages Hopes were high for the system to reduce the workload “wrong answers” became a major stumbling block The city set a goal of 99% or higher accuracy After training the AI on more than 4,000 questions the rate of correct answers improved from the initial 63% to 94% “It is difficult to further increase the percentage of correct answers with the current technology,” said a person at the laboratory in charge of the system the city decided not to fully implement the system because it feared the system would increase its employees’ workload as incorrect information could lead to noncompliance with waste disposal regulations or an increase in inquiries “It’s the role of the administration to deliver accurate information We decided it was too early to implement the system for citizens,” said Takeshi Arawaki who was then head of the city’s digital promotion office and is now director of the regional strategy section The city is now considering using AI for other tasks in cooperation with the University of Tokyo laboratory Generative AI is expected to improve work efficiency due to its ability to produce human-like sentences one of the risks of using AI is that it sometimes gives incorrect answers installed ChatGPT on all 200 of its employees’ computers in October last year Improving work efficiency is a pressing concern for the town as many local government staff hold multiple jobs The town has used ChatGPT to generate ideas and create meeting materials and the amount of work required to summarize meetings minutes has been cut in half While aiming to introduce the system in services for its citizens the town learned that Mitoyo had “given up” on ChatGPT “Making good use of generative AI is a way for the town to survive I was shocked to learn that we wouldn’t be able to introduce the system for resident services if the percentage of correct answers isn’t high enough,” said Hirohisa Usui chief manager of the town’s digital promotion division The town said it has been promoting the use of AI since spring by appointing “missionaries” who are familiar with digital technology at each department but services for citizens have yet to materialize director of the Association for Promotion of Public Local Information and Communication believes that “local governments are expected to face further staff shortages and heavier workloads due to the declining population The expectation for AI is more apparent in rural areas.” “Since some mistakes can be fatal with today’s technology generative AI needs to be used in a limited way to assist the staff,” he said Our weekly ePaper presents the most noteworthy recent topics in an exciting © 2025 The Japan News - by The Yomiuri Shimbun Today's print edition Home Delivery Hundreds of visiting college students and locals are gathered for the daily spectacle — a mirrored sunset tailor-made for social media his dog tied to the bumper of his open hatchback Parked cars in the lot face the inland sea making the scene look like a drive-in movie theater Young couples sip coffee and craft beer from the new shops that line the beach The bustling cosmopolitan vibe belies this remote location in Japan’s Setouchi region.googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1499653692894-0'); }); The moment everyone is waiting for arrives the sea recedes and the sun dips behind the horizon Tide pools reflect the sightseers and scenes above Cameras and smartphones come out and the groups who have gathered act out carefully planned poses In a time of both misinformation and too much information quality journalism is more crucial than ever.By subscribing Your subscription plan doesn't allow commenting. To learn more see our FAQ Sponsored contents planned and edited by JT Media Enterprise Division Your browser does not support JavaScript, or it is disabled．Please check the site policy for more information white-walled building on a small islet in the Seto Inland Sea offers a place where people can stay “in touch” with their deceased loved ones The building is home to the “Missing Post Office,” which receives mail mainly from people who are not ready or willing to say their final goodbyes The Missing Post Office sits on Awashima island It stands a short walk from the island’s port in hopes of acting like a beach where letters to unknown addresses are “washed ashore like floats” or messages in bottles used to head the actual postal station on the isle inspired by the Missing Post Office’s therapeutic role that was first shown at an art festival a decade ago now volunteers to deal with the thousands of letters and postcards that arrive and they always started with the name of a certain “daughter” and ended with “from your mother.” saying delightedly they got 100 on their tests They both wanted to show the results to you first and foremost They put and spread the tests on the home Buddhist altar in front of your photo almost every day through the Missing Post Office “Have you enjoyed tonight’s ginger pork?” the mother asked in a letter I will add two shrimps specially for you as you loved that seafood.” One letter described the daughter’s children as “growing up a lot over the past year or so” but said it is “heartbreaking at times seeing their backs while they sadly sit before the Buddhist altar.” and I go all out with makeup before my trips to their school in hopes of looking 2 to 3 years younger.” The mother also described a dream that awoke her one night “Told that you died and are no longer here I cried out and was awakened by my own shout,” she wrote Nakata could only imagine when and how the mother wrote the missives to her daughter “She apparently worked on the letters when she was relaxing after taking care of her daughter’s children all day long supplying meals to them and washing their clothing,” Nakata said After sending more than 100 letters to the Missing Post Office the mother showed up there with her husband from the Kyushu region in southern Japan She told Nakata that writing and sending the letters helped her “feel a sense of peace.” the mother sent a letter addressed to Nakata “I now believe that successfully raising precious kids left behind by my daughter--or her treasures--will constitute what little compensation I can offer because I was unable to protect my daughter to the end,” the mother wrote “My prediction is that 15 or so years will be needed for our grandchildren to reach adulthood and live by themselves … I will do my best so I can lead the rest of my life with my husband without regret.” The Missing Post Office initially started inside the former Awashima Post Office as an art exhibit for the 2013 Setouchi Triennale festival decided to turn the building into an artistic production because she liked Nakata’s private property a staff member of the Awashima Post Office for 45 years was so attached to the structure that he bought and managed the abandoned building after the aging office was relocated He was appointed head of the Missing Post Office during the art festival The role of the facility was expected to end when the art festival closed But Nakata decided to continue serving as a volunteer postmaster after the event and made the building accessible free of charge “This place should not have been shut down that way,” Nakata recalled He not only keeps letters but also welcomes visitors to the Missing Post Office He also covers the maintenance costs of the building’s roof and floor A total of 55,000 letters and postcards have arrived at the postal station in the nearly 10 years since its introduction “Our eldest daughter’s marriage is next year.” Another letter asks the sender’s future self whether he or she has “become an elementary school teacher.” One writer apologizes to a baby who died before delivery The addressees vary from a paramour to a fiance killed in World War II as a member of a suicide unit Nakata comes to the Missing Post Office every Saturday afternoon to postmark and thumb through the mail The Missing Post Office is open to anyone during these hours and visitors can freely read the checked messages placed on the facility’s shelves Dozens of individuals turn up daily from around the world Visitors are occasionally overwhelmed by emotion while reading the letters and they break down in tears and grab Nakata's arm as soon as they spot him Nakata listens carefully to their views and takes photos with them He said the letters have stopped arriving from the mother who lost her daughter “She can now do without sending out letters,” Nakata said He has said that he is not thinking about closing the post office because many other people are still sending their emotion-filled letters there “This place is for embracing and storing feelings that can be vented or shared nowhere else,” he said “I will continue the service for as long as I can.” Messages for delivery to the Missing Post Office should be sent poste restante to: Missing Post Office For detailed information, go to (https://www.mitoyo-kanko.com/eng/facility/missing-post-office/) Emotions well up as old letters returned from Great Buddha Student creates event for people who have lost their mothers Letter from mom’s pen pal delivers heartfelt lesson of family Wartime love letters unlock quiet romance of 80 years ago Information on the latest cherry blossom conditions Please right click to use your browser’s translation function.) A series based on diplomatic documents declassified by Japan’s Foreign Ministry Here is a collection of first-hand accounts by “hibakusha” atomic bomb survivors chefs and others involved in the field of food introduce their special recipes intertwined with their paths in life A series about Japanese-Americans and their memories of World War II In-house News and Messages No reproduction or republication without written permission Local authorities in western Japan began culling around 330,000 chickens Thursday after an outbreak of a highly pathogenic avian flu was confirmed at a chicken farm for the first time in nearly three years in the country The Kagawa prefectural government instructed chicken farms within a 3-kilometer radius of the infected site in Mitoyo not to move any poultry and eggs and was checking whether infections had occurred at other locations Farms within a 10-km radius are banned from transporting birds and eggs out of the area The infected farm reported Wednesday a total of 3,800 chickens had died over a four-day period The measures cover around 4.62 million chickens at 115 farms within the 10-km radius but as of Thursday morning there were no reports of other mass poultry deaths in the zone It is expected to take around 10 days to complete the cull The Ground Self-Defense Force joined the operation at the request of the prefectural government "I don't understand how the infection originated since we had studiously implemented sanitation measures," said the president of the company operating the infected farm "I have no choice but to wait for instructions from the authorities." Poultry farmers in the area expressed concern about the impact on their businesses "I'm in trouble because I can't ship eggs unless (my chickens) are confirmed negative in tests," said a man in his 60s who runs a poultry farm within the 3-km zone "I can only pray that my chickens have not been infected." The last avian flu outbreak in Japan in January 2018 also occurred in Kagawa Prefecture which is located on the main island of Shikoku The farm ministry said Japan will suspend the export of chickens and eggs for the time being Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga instructed Cabinet members to closely liaise in taking preventive steps and share information swiftly while asking poultry farmers to stay alert "The government will work as one and take full-blown measures to prevent the spread of infections," said Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato at a Cabinet meeting on the outbreak Keizo Hamada to promise aid to prevent the spread of the disease as well as reputational damage to the local industry "There is no problem even if consumers eat eggs and meat from chickens infected with the disease I ask people not to worry excessively," Hanashi said adding that his ministry had sent an epidemiological investigation team The Environment Ministry raised its nationwide alert for wild birds to the highest of three levels The alert was raised to two last week following a bird flu outbreak in South Korea The ministry is increasing surveillance for suspicious deaths of wild birds within a 10-km radius of the infected farm in Kagawa To have the latest news and stories delivered to your inbox Simply enter your email address below and an email will be sent through which to complete your subscription Please check your inbox for a confirmation email Thank you for reaching out to us.We will get back to you as soon as possible Chichibugahama Beach is a popular tourist destination in Mitoyo City Japan which rose to fame thanks to photo-sharing social media platforms like Instagram If you ever find ourself doubting the power of social media, just remember the story of Chichibugahama Beach. A once obscure seaside destination in Japan’s Kagawa Prefecture, this place turned into a magnet for Instagram influencers virtually overnight It all started in 2016 when authorities in Mitoyo City organized a photo competition to boost local tourism One of the most eye-catching entries featured two children reflected in the shallow waters of Chichibugahama and the visual effect was so stunning that the idea of using this mirror effect as a tourist draw turned into a marketing success story After the water reflection entered in the above-mentioned competition got so much attention on a local level authorities decided to go all-in on the mirror beach pitch The city website started posting tips on how to take the perfect picture at Chichibugahama and posted a calendar listing tide and sunset times at the beach As the photos found their way on social media the Mitoyo City website got over 40,000 visits in just a few days At one point, a travel magazine called Chichibugahama Beach ‘Japan’s Uyuni Salt Lake,’ compared it to the world-famous tourist destination in Bolivia, where the sky is reflected in a natural, watery mirror. National televisions started broadcasting reports from this once unknown destination and Chichibugahama became THE place to visit on Shikoku Island A place that any locals hardly knew about started drawing tens of thousands of tourists from all over Japan in just a couple of months and it was all virtually because of a single photo that got a lot of attention on social media it’s common to see Instagrammers gathering along the one-kilometer coast of Chichibugahama at sunset struggling to get an eye-catching photo for their accounts “The fact that many people gather in a place which locals barely even look at is something which makes me especially happy,” Yukari Ishii, a worker with Mitoyo City’s tourism department, told Japan Forward in 2018 one really feels the force of social media.” The coronavirus pandemic left its mark on Japanese tourism but the place is now already famous as the place where the sky and the ocean meet so it’s bound to see a resurgence as soon as restrictions are lifted Reuters reports that these will be the sixth and seventh cases of the avian flu in western Kagawa prefecture and the biggest culling to be done at one time since the country's first bird flu outbreak in more than two years was found in the poultry this month Chickens at the two farms in Mitoyo city tested positive in a preliminary examination for avian influenza on Thursday 19 November after the farms had notified the prefectural government of an increase in the number of dead chickens The local government said it has confirmed the infection was a highly pathogenic strain of H5 bird flu from genetic tests on Friday 20 November The prefecture has already culled about 460,000 chickens for the past four cases Japan's last outbreak of bird flu occurred in January 2018 when 91,000 chickens at a farm in Sanuki city were culled due to the H5N6 strain of bird flu Read more about this story here. Global Ag Media provides a knowledge sharing platform offering premium news, analysis and information resources for the global agriculture industry. Sign up to our regular newsletter and access news from across the Global AG Media network The beach is located in near to the city of Mitoyo in Shikoku Island’s Kagawa Prefecture I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A beach in Japan has become an Instagram hit thanks to its tide pools which create a mirror-like effect whilst reflecting the sky and is located outside the city of Mitoyo in Shikoku Island’s Kagawa Prefecture mirror-like spot has been tagged more than 175,000 times on Instagram The country’s “most photogenic beach,” according to Mitoyo’s tourism site, also has its own page on the social media platform where visitors’ best mirrored photographs are selected and reposted Jumping poses seem to be particularly popular as do couple shots and photographs of people holding umbrellas Photographs show jaw-dropping sunsets and sunrises in intense purples Dramatic cloudscapes seem to come out particularly well above the tide pools as do photographs taken on very still days due to the lack of ripples on the surface of the water The beach is being compared to the Salar de Uyuni salt flats in Bolivia which also reflect a mirror image of the sky during the rainy season and are very popular with travellers Chichibugahama Beach was relatively unknown until recent years whereas the Salar de Uyuni salt flats have been on the tourist trail for a while The so-called mirror beach’s  popularity surged in 2016 when a picture showing two children reflected in its water impressed the judges of Mitoyo tourist authority photo competition, according to Japan Forward The photograph caught the eye of other photographers who set out to capture their own mirror images turning the one-kilometre-long (0.6-mile) beach into a significant tourist attraction According to the tourism website the mirror effect works best at sunset and when there is no wind to disturb the water’s surface The website has even gone as far as to release tips on how to capture the best pictures saying: “The trick is to keep your stance close to the surface of the water.” It also suggests how models should pose for photographs there It says that the model should pose on one side of the tide pool while the photographer ought to stand on the other The website also includes a calendar that lists the beach’s tide and sunset times helping Instagrammers to capture the perfect shot tourists have been asked not to fly drones over the beach when it gets crowded Sharing their experience of the Instagram-famous attraction TripAdvisor user MarkGroenewold called it a “pristine and gorgeous” beach that is an”’iconic place for unique photography,” Meanwhile a user who goes by the name of Lunasolhk said: “The best time for all those seamless reflections of the sky is evening [sunset] with low tide Chichibugahama Beach is also a popular location for swimmers; since 1995 a local committee has been dedicated to keeping it clean. For those wishing to pay the beach a visit, take the Nio Line bus route from JR Takuma Station in Mitoyo. This will take around 25 minutes. There is also a car park next to the beach for those arriving by car. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Chichibuga beach on Shikoku island was barely known until photographs of stunning sunsets started to appear on social media Now visitors flock to capture images of the fiery sea and skies at dusk Photograph: Isabel ChoatChichibuga is a 1km-long pancake-flat sandy strand overlooking the Seto Inland Sea on the north coast of Shikoku Hiroshima) – not to mention stunning alpine landscapes – and the southernmost island of Kyushu (often called the most beautiful) Shikoku is overlooked by international visitors Those who do come are drawn by either its spiritual heritage – the 88 sacred temples trail is Japan’s most famous pilgrimage – its inland gorges Despite being easily accessible from Honshu – Shikoku’s capital is an hour and 20 minutes’ drive over a causeway bridge from Okayama city – the coast of the Seto Inland Sea is low on the list of visitor attractions on the outskirts of unassuming Mitoyo city the Mitoyo tourism authority ran a photography competition The winning image showed two children reflected in Chichibuga’s perfectly still It was a dramatic photo and a lightbulb moment for the authorities which in 2016 attracted a handful of tourists The day I visited there were four coaches in the car park but the usually calm sea was choppy and the sky mottled with dark clouds told me they had driven four hours from Nara to photograph the beach and eat the region’s famous udon noodles (not at the same time) They were disappointed with the weather but said they’d be back to try again another time – and at least the noodles were good Udon House is his take on the Italian agriturismo a chance to showcase the local food culture visit a farmer and join a breakfast tour of local udon restaurants Chichibuga beach is a short drive from Udon House so guests will also get a chance to visit the new local highlight Japan is the most photographed country in Asia, and the second most photographed country in the world. With the Rugby World Cup and the Setouchi Art Triennale taking place in 2019 and new direct flights from London-Osaka starting on 31 March regular Instagram users interested in Japan are likely to start seeing a little-known beach bathed in pinks and reds and purples This article was amended on 19 November 2018 to correct the spelling of Shikoku On the small island of Awashima in Kagawa Prefecture a one-of-a-kind art project known as the Missing Post Office claims its home in the half-century-old building of a former post office it was created in 2013 for the Setouchi Triennale art festival Missing Post Office is meant to be the destination of all letters addressed to those unable to receive them they are placed in one of several tin PO boxes that are hanging by a wire They were designed to make wave-like sounds in keeping with the post office's drifting theme visitors can read the letters and even bring one home if they feel certain that it's addressed to them Originally designed as a temporary exhibit Kubota decided to keep the Missing Post Office as letters kept coming in by the hundreds former postmaster of the now-defunct Awashima Post Office that once stood on the spot Visitors are also welcome to write a letter and leave it at the post office.  The island is 15 minutes by ferry from Port Suda in the town of Takuma, which sails eight times a day you must walk for about 10 minutes from Port Awashima or rent a bicycle In Tasmania's "Valley of Views," dozens of novelty mailboxes add a quirky element to the landscape A creative deviation in this post office's design was once a source of controversy The first post office in Toronto still operates today complete with quill pens and ink for writing letters The southernmost postal office in South America The oldest functioning mailbox in Spain was installed in 1793 Inside Cork's Kent station stands its country's longest-serving postbox A comprehensive look at the art of Joaquín Sorolla in his former home in Madrid These post boxes from a bygone era have been the source of controversy and debate Please view the main text area of the page by skipping the main menu. The page may not be displayed properly if the JavaScript is deactivated on your browser Japanese version National Report Kagawa Prefecture--Famed documentary film director Tatsuya Mori’s next project is a photodrama based on the true story of Japanese peddlers brutally killed amid social turmoil following the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake The slayings of the nine itinerant traders occurred in Chiba Prefecture east of Tokyo on the sidelines of a massacre of Koreans based on unfounded rumors they were going on a looting and arson spree as the capital went up in flames The victims were members of the “buraku” community descendants of feudal-era outcasts who faced deep-rooted discrimination from Kagawa Prefecture on the island of Shikoku plans to release the film on the Fukuda village incident on the centenary of the earthquake disaster that claimed an estimated 105,000 lives with 71-year-old scenarist Toshimichi Saeki to conduct research and interviews ahead of writing a script for the film A 76-year-old woman told Mori and Saeki about Haruyoshi Omae “He would wail and scream when he had a drink,” she said “He was probably recalling how fellow members of his party were killed before his eyes.” Omae was just 13 years old when he was attacked He gave his first testimony to members of a private study group in 1986 more than half a century after the tragedy He had never uttered a word about the incident According to accounts of survivors and other sources the party’s leader got into a quarrel with a waterman at a ferry crossing on the bank of the Tonegawa river in the village of Fukuda Members of a neighborhood watch from Fukuda and the neighboring village of Tanaka Some in the crowd argued that the itinerants could be Koreans because their speech sounded different One of the vigilantes slashed at a peddler with a fireman’s ax equipped with a sharp-edged hook while another opened fire with a hunting rifle including a 2-year-old and a pregnant woman The remaining seven were imprisoned for rioting and murder but were freed under an amnesty following the death of Emperor Taisho in 1926 Mori learned of the incident from a newspaper article he read 20 or so years ago He was astonished that an incident of such brutality had long remained hushed up He made the rounds of TV producers with a proposal to feature it in a special program The producers shunned the proposal on grounds of sensitivity because the incident involved discrimination against Koreans and buraku people Mori has been alarmed by a number of developments that convinced him the incident merited coverage through a docudrama Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike ended the tradition of sending a eulogy for annual memorial services for the Koreans massacred in the aftermath of the Great Kanto Earthquake She has cited “various viewpoints” on the issue that deny wartime atrocities such as the Nanking Massacre of 1937 and issues like “comfort women,” who were forced to provide sex for Japanese soldiers during World War II with the novel coronavirus pandemic raging society has been rife with discriminatory and exclusivist behavior with regard to COVID-19 cases “The Fukuda village incident shows how easily and dangerously a crowd of people could end up killing others if they were influenced by unfounded rumors during emergency situations,” he said “Both the assailants and the victims were Japanese I want to delve into what separated their fates.” Mori said he wanted to carefully portray why and how the slayings took place “so we will not repeat the same mistake precisely because we are living in a time like this.” Mori has worked on a number of documentary films which is themed on the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult responsible for the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system and other crimes he said he has always wanted to shoot a photodrama cast the main characters and start raising funds for the project through a crowdfunding platform The Fukuda village incident remained largely unknown until a high school teacher and others from Kagawa Prefecture recorded the testimonies of the survivors in 1986 Members of human rights groups and others from Chiba and Kagawa prefectures also began examining the case in 2000 A memorial monument was erected near the incident site in 2003 The study attributed the incident to compounding factors exclusivism against outsiders and mob psychology EDITORIAL: Koike needs to address group’s bid to whitewash Tokyo’s history Koike under fire as memorial held for Koreans slain in Tokyo in 1923 Protests spread over Suga’s ‘tyrannical’ council rejections Filmmaker plans movie on Pacific nuclear tests for U.S The legacy of mass rape in Rwanda laid bare in new book Kagawa Prefecture--Drones are taking parcel deliveries to new heights on a remote island where demand is high through a new service touted as the first of its kind in Japan It left Suda Port in Mitoyo for the Awashima islet four kilometers away and arrived and automatically unloaded the package all on its own the island frequently has inclement weather which has proven to be a major challenge for the service’s development and expansion grateful islanders hope the novel delivery service is here to stay “It will prove to be of great help if a wider variety of products become available for delivery,” said resident Takeko Asakura a start-up based in the prefectural capital of Takamatsu launched the service in August for the tiny island community Delivering a package costs just 500 yen ($4.45) If a customer places a shipping order in the morning by phone the goods will reach them later that same day A local convenience store operator has partnered with Kamomeya offering 40 kinds of items that can be delivered But only a package of up to 1 kilogram can be flown to the island at a time Although drone test flights for commercial purposes have been carried out nationwide Kamomeya President Masato Ono said he believes it to be the first time a private business has relied on an unmanned aircraft for transportation on a full-fledged basis in Japan worked for a company affiliated with the mobile carrier NTT Docomo Inc before he became a freelance internet service engineer He decided to set up his own company in 2013 when he relocated to a remote island in the Seto Inland Sea after volunteering for an international art festival there Ono found that the ferry ride to make a typical daily shopping run would take half a day he stumbled upon a promotional video by online retailer Amazon.com Inc about a drone delivering ordered goods to a suburban home Ono instinctively felt “this would work” in his own neighborhood Ono sought out manufacturers of radio-controlled planes and phoned them hoping he could commission drone production for his business when even drones for aerial photography were not common But he did not give up and continued asking around for help until he eventually found a manufacturer that finally agreed The president of the company told Ono to assemble a drone on his own following his instructions The reasoning behind this was that it would force Ono to learn the ins and outs of the aircraft from firsthand experience he would waive the design fee so Ono would only have to pay the material costs Ono learned how to build and operate a drone “Unless the president had found my project interesting and worked with me I would not have been able to become what I am today,” said Ono Ono solicited investors and began the shipping service eight years after he developed his business plan Now his biggest challenge is overcoming the elements The effects that rain and wind have on the aircraft’s operations turned out to be a lot more severe than he initially expected The drone can only operate about 20 percent of the time due to bad weather his drone delivery business could also take off elsewhere There are more than 400 remote isles with people living on them in Japan Islanders are finding it increasingly difficult to access parcel delivery services Kamomeya’s corporate slogan is to bring innovation to life on remote islands from the sky over the Seto Inland Sea Ono plans to live up to that and is now rushing to introduce a drone more resistant to stormy weather that can fly with a payload of up to 5 kg Yoshinoya beef bowls take to the sky in drone delivery test run Drone delivers cake from oven in 16-minute run over Lake Biwa Drone developer gives $680,000 ‘hoverbike’ a spin in Shizuoka Tourists climb aboard to visit scenic unstaffed train stations Rules relaxed for operating drones at night Luxurylaunches.com is an award winning premium lifestyle website It features the latest and the best from the world of extravagance and opulence