Japan has put into effect new laws to restrict drone use, and its police have now started practising using their own units to take down other illegal drones. The machine deployed in a police unit, called the "unmanned aerial vehicle unit", has a special net to catch others that measure 3m in height and 2m wide. It can catch a drone without letting it drop.

The Japanese Metropolitan Police Department has created the new unit especially for this purpose. The law was changed on 10 December, which saw a ban on the use of drones in the 23 wards of Tokyo as well as high population areas or airports.

The change also comes in response to an incident in April, when a drone marked with a radioactive sign was found on the roof of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's office, and media said it tested positive for a "minuscule" amount of radiation. Police said they have practised using the drone to capture other aerial vehicles, in accordance with the enforcement of the revised aviation law.

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Japan