Grant Decision for FY2025 Drone Delivery Hub Development Promotion Subsidy
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism announced on August 18, 2025, that it has decided to grant subsidies to 5 applications for the FY2025 "Drone Delivery Hub Development Promotion Subsidy." The total grant amount is approximately 98 million yen, constituting an important support project aimed at solving logistics challenges in remote islands and mountainous areas and promoting social implementation of drone logistics.
Background and Purpose of the Subsidy Project
This subsidy project was established to address the serious labor shortage in logistics and declining logistics demand in remote islands and mountainous areas nationwide. In these regions, maintaining conventional land transportation logistics services has become difficult due to aging populations and population decline, leading to rising expectations for drone utilization as a new delivery method. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has positioned maintaining and securing regional logistics networks during normal times as well as securing alternative transportation methods to land transport during disasters as important policy objectives.
Overview of Application and Selection Process
Subsidy project applications were accepted from May 15 to June 20, 2025, receiving applications from local governments and logistics operators nationwide. Applications received during the application period were comprehensively evaluated on project effectiveness, regional contribution, technical feasibility, and cost-effectiveness, ultimately resulting in the selection of 5 projects. The selected projects feature diverse initiatives tailored to regional characteristics and logistics challenges.
Supported Project Content
This subsidy supports last-mile delivery efficiency projects implemented through collaboration between local governments and logistics operators. Specifically, it targets construction of new logistics systems that effectively combine conventional truck-based land transportation with drone delivery. This combination is expected to achieve reliable material transport to previously difficult-to-access areas, along with delivery cost reduction and delivery time shortening.
Significance for Social Implementation and Expected Effects
The grant decisions are expected to significantly advance social implementation of drone logistics. The 5 selected projects will conduct empirical initiatives to solve technical, operational, and institutional challenges while accumulating knowledge. These results can also be utilized as horizontal deployment models for other regions, serving as a foundation for nationwide drone logistics proliferation. Additionally, strengthening emergency supply transport systems during disasters is expected to contribute to enhanced regional disaster prevention and mitigation capabilities, achieving improved safety and security for local residents and enhanced regional economic sustainability.