Organizers urge public not to fly drones over Sanja Matsuri
TOKYO —
Organizers of the three-day Sanja Matsuri, which got under way Friday in Tokyo’s Asakusa district, have urged the public not to fly drones over the area during the festivities.
The Sanja Matsuri is one of Tokyo’s biggest festivals and is expected to draw about 1.5 million visitors through Sunday.
Last weekend, during a festival at Zenkoji temple in Nagano, a drone operated by 15-year-old boy landed by mistake beside startled participants in a parade.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has already banned drones in 81 public parks and gardens.
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13 Comments
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0
ReformedBasher
I like drones and wish I had the spare cash to buy one.
But, yeah, no private drones over crowds of people, thanks.
Police, okay.
Media, as long as there are guidelines, and they are followed.
3
sf2k
Drone users need to start organizing themselves to create operation rules of conduct and licenses. Maybe like engineers and doctors who control their own at the behest of government but not run by government. Maybe a combination of that and a pilots license. That would encourage the industry at the same time start building on the public trust. Otherwise it's going to increasingly get weird
-2
ReformedBasher
sf2k
Good idea. In any case, buyers should be familiar with local rules regarding aviation (one's already hit a plane apparently) and safety. People who use them professionally could undergo some training too.
1
Jeff Ogrisseg
This is not exactly what I'd call a panic-inducing example. But I'll bet there is at least one person out there who went full-on with their drone kit and Go-Pro camera specifically for this festival, and they're gonna ignore this request to their own peril.
-4
gogogo
Seriously lame excuse, another one of those bandwagon thing Japan is famous for.
1
afanofjapan
Actually i would not be surprised if there were drones at this. Some of the most striking scenes of the Sanja matsuri (the ones you see in the google pictures of Yakuza members displaying their tattoos happen at the very start of the mikoshi, inside the temple that is closed to public. Only press and few lucky people get to be in there to see this, so it would be awesome to have drone footage of that (not that i would do it, but i still want to see the start one day).
Also towards the end at the miyairi where the mikoshi are put back into the temple, that is all closed again, and there are probably 1 million people cramming to get a photo of the last scenes. It is pure madness, and at times you wish you could just float above it all to see it properly.
2
sf2k
If there was a Japanese Drone Association, they could have been invited by organizers to live stream the event from qualified / experienced pilots. That would modernize it without plaguing it with dozens of drones and kiddy drones. Depends how noisy they are and if it detracts from the fete.
Maybe it isn't possible at all in this case, but in other cases such a scenario in future may be. It might even end up as a broadcasting channel or used more often in film production
3
TorafusuTorasan
Drones do have potential to get great footage of festivals, concerts, and the like. But what gets me about these remote control devices is that it's hard to tell who's running them and for what purpose. Last weekend, my city had its annual downtown music festival. The area where I spent most of my time was a mini-park on a bridge that is a good place for my kid to play. Imagine my surprise when my eagle-eyed offspring told me to look up at the drone not too high above us. I took a few pictures of it out of curiosity, after which it zipped to another vantage point over the audience of the nearby drum group. For whatever reason, it made a point to not fly directly over the performers (don't want any musicians to storm off during a set because a drone got too close).
My first time encountering a drone was benign, but I would still like to know where the owner was and what the plan is for the footage. After the novelty and rarity wears off, if drones become ubiquitous at festivals, I think they will become the new pet peeve like the way selfie sticks got banned by Coachella music fest starting this year.
1
Christopher Glen
True enough. Saw one hovering over Matsumoto castle once
-1
Nessie
Pretty soon there'll be certs and all kinds of red tape. If there's one thing Japanese can agree on, it's the beauty of endless standardized tests.
0
sf2k
@Nessie look up your local engineering association. It's not a government association either but recognized as a collection of certified and trained people who agree to abide by rules they've defined for the betterment of society.
Drones need to similarly organize themselves to provide guidance to other users and provide society a registration of users that are licensed operators. That way they may even be invited to events and provide local coverage. The analogy is like a neighbourhood cameraman with a license plate.
Your car has a license plate. Society will similarly have need of the drone community for things like insurance, not operating an unsafe vehicle, safety to the public.
Rules and licenses allow a safe society. In fact, you can't have it without them
0
Michael Craig
Here, drones are poised for innovations and delivery use. In Japan, they are now vilified!!
0
Bill Adams
In a free society there should be no objection to people using drones in public areas. There are already far too many rules and restrictions as it is, without any more being added. Having said that, if someone has an accident and causes harm or damage, then they should be financially liable.
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