KDDI Turns Lawson Stores and Post Offices Into Drone Bases

KDDI Smart Drone plans to turn post office rooftops and Lawson convenience store lots into drone bases. The company outlined the plan on October 28 at KDDI SUMMIT 2026, as part of a push for what it calls an "AI workforce in the sky" that handles logistics, community monitoring, infrastructure inspection and disaster response.

The "AI workforce" idea comes from KDDI's medium-term strategy and refers to AI taking over work as labor shortages worsen. KDDI president Masafumi Hirono said the drone business embodies that idea most clearly. KDDI wants to deploy drones nationwide as shared infrastructure for companies and local governments.

Ports, partners and Starlink

KDDI Smart Drone now runs drone ports at 33 sites across Japan. In June 2026 it set up its first permanent port at a Lawson store, in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture. That month it also signed a basic agreement with Japan Post to use the network of about 24,000 post offices. In September the two companies installed a port on the roof of Suzu Post Office in Ishikawa Prefecture and, together with a site at a nearby fire station, flew several drones remotely at once.

On the connectivity side, KDDI said it succeeded in May 2026 in a flight trial with direct communication between a drone and SpaceX's Starlink. That confirmed remote operation outside cellular coverage. The company aims to launch the service in 2027.

Disaster reporting and the cost question

TV Asahi sees a use in disaster coverage. Its news center chief, Takashi Yanai, said helicopters take about an hour to reach a disaster scene, while a drone stationed nearby could capture the situation in about 10 minutes. On October 7, TV Asahi, KDDI and KDDI Smart Drone ran a simulated large earthquake exercise on the Noto Peninsula. A drone took off about 15 minutes after the quake, and two operators in Tokyo flew four drones at once. Footage reached TV Asahi's headquarters in real time over an IP line and could be fed into broadcast equipment.

Cost remains the obstacle. Japan Post executive officer Yoshihiro Gomi said development, operation and advance route setup all take time and money. Per-flight costs are falling, he said, and scheduled routes, more flights and one person operating several drones remotely should cut labor further. How to make the business profitable is likely to decide how quickly drones spread.