Company

Japan’s leading aerial survey aircraft operator

Kyoritsu Air Survey was founded in 1972 when the flight operation divisions of four major aerial survey companies were spun off from their parent companies and combined into a single company specializing in aerial photography. Over the 50 years since our founding, and guided by our motto of “safety first,” we at Kyoritsu Air Survey have been dedicated to building a business that strengthens the foundation of our society.

President’s Message

Guided by our total commitment to safety, we contribute to sustainable development from the sky

Kazunori Maeda President and CEO

Dear Stakeholders,

Over the nearly 50 years since Kyoritsu Air Survey was founded in 1972 as an aircraft operator serving aerial survey companies, we have recorded changes and transformations to the surface of the earth from the perspective of the sky in every corner of Japan and at locations overseas.

With our head office located in Chofu Airport, Tokyo, we have personnel, aircraft, hangers, photography equipment, and other key equipment deployed all around Japan. This includes: Okadama Airport (Sapporo, Hokkaido Prefecture), Sendai Airport (Iwanuma, Miyagi Prefecture), Nagoya Airport (Nishikasugai, Aichi Prefecture), Yao Airport (Yao, Osaka Prefecture), and Kitakyushu Airport (Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture). By now, we have grown to possess the largest fleet of survey aircraft and a greater variety and number of sensors for aircraft in operation than any aerial survey company in Japan; and this is all because of our stakeholders who have supported us over the years.

Kyoritsu Air Survey has been doing air surveys of land throughout Japan for a half-century. The changes in society and the natural environment as well as the change in the attitude of people that these changes have brought about have been profound. Especially notable in this regard in recent years is how we now depend on society to provide an increasingly diverse range of needs to support our daily lives and how natural disasters that were once rare are becoming commonplace and more and more severe. In recent years, to deal with diversified people lives' needs required of the society and the increasing severe natural disasters that occur "frequently" rather than "rarely" , we are expecting that the Japan SDG model will be progressing at an accelerated pace as the top priority to complete in 2030.

There are new problems for which society needs solutions, and therefore we at Kyoritsu Air Survey will both continue to gather data led by our fleet of aircraft and UAVs and strive to produce value-added data by combining this data with satellite and other types of data as part of our effort to contribute to the development of the digital society from our perspective in the sky.

Moreover, our commitment to safety is a vital part of our mission of contributing to a safe and secure society from our perspective up in the sky. As a business that operates aircraft, we scrupulously observe all the relevant laws, and guided by our motto of “safety first,” we remain committed to our company-wide safety goal of zero aircraft accidents and major incidents and to continuing our safety promotion activities.

As we move forward, we intend to strengthen mutual dialogue and communication with our stakeholders, leverage the rapid advances in digital technology, and bolster our spatial information, flight operation, and engineering and maintenance capabilities so that we further sharpen our intellect and senses from the perspective of the sky and “convey the pulse of the ground from the sky above now and forever!”

We sincerely appreciate your continued support and look forward to working with you.

Our Company Motto

Safety First

Since our founding in 1972, Kyoritsu Air Survey has kept watch over the ground from our workplace in the sky. Over that time, the aircraft and cameras we use have become more sophisticated and complex. But even as the world around us changes at a dizzying pace, the one thing that remains constant is our dedication to safety. We will continue as we always have to take to the eternal sky guided by our motto of “safety first.”

Corporate Vision

Conveying the pulse of the ground from the sky above now and forever!

Founded in 1972, Kyoritsu Air Survey celebrate its 50th year. Over that time, we have observed all kinds of changes on earth through our aerial surveys of its surface. And these changes have occurred not just in topography, they have occurred everywhere: to buildings and other manmade things, to the environment—including changes to the forests that absorb CO2—and to the surface of our planet after natural disasters. We have been and will continue to be professionals at observing the ground from the sky.

Corporate Information

Company name	Kyoritsu Air Survey Co., Ltd.
Date of establishment	February 23, 1972
Paid-in capital	JPY 66.2 million
President and CEO	Kazunori Maeda
Vice President	Hiromi Ikeuchi
Directors	Total 7 people including Yuji Hosoi, Toshiaki Kubota, and Katsuhiro Suzuki
No. of employees	97 (As of July 1, 2022)
Business categories	Vertical and oblique aerial photographs, survey and research flights, aircraft operation and maintenance services
Licenses (Date of acquisition)	MLIT JCAB No 638 (Sept. 27, 1972） MLIT Surveyor Registration No. (4)28902（Sept. 10, 2018） Approved by MLIT as a facility for aircraft maintenance, No. 242 (Aug. 8, 2019) MIC Radio station inspection company permit No 0040（Mar. 18, 2008） METI Aircraft Repair Business Permit, Tokyo No 119（Oct. 11, 2017） METI Aircraft Repair Business Permit, Osaka No 120（Oct. 11, 2017） Certificate Registration issued by the International Business Aviation Council IS-BAO STAGE3 (May.31.2013)
No. of national license holders	35 pilots, 29 mechanics, 7 surveyors, and 13 assistant surveyors (As of July 1, 2022）
Shareholders	Kokusai Kogyo Co., Ltd. PASCO CORPORATION Hasshu CO., LTD. HIGASHI-NIHON SOGO KEIKAKU, CO., LTD. Resona Bank, Limited. Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd. Sompo Japan Insurance Inc. AIRPORT FACILITIES CO., LTD. etc.
Main financing banks	Mizuho Bank, Shinjuku Nishiguchi Branch MUFG Bank, Chofu Branch Resona Bank, Toranomon Branch

History

1972 February 1972: Kyoritsu Air Survey, Japan’s first aerial survey company, begins operation	Feb.	Kyoritsu Air Survey is established with a capital of 50 million yen. (Kyoritsu is initially co-established by Japan's four major air survey companies: Kokusai Kogyo, PASCO, Hasshu, and Tohoku Sokuryo. When Tohoku Sokuryo withdraws, the flight operation divisions of the remaining three are spun off from their parent companies and combined into a single company specializing in aerial photography.)
	Apr.	The company starts operation. Kanto Operation Center opens at Chofu Airport, and Kansai Operation Center opens at Yao Airport.
1974	Jul.	Tohoku Operation Center opens at Sendai Airport.
1978	Apr.	Kyusyu Operation Center opens at Kumamoto Airport.
1979	Jun.	Sapporo Operation Center opens at Sapporo Okadama Airport.
1986	Apr.	Kyoritsu incorporates the flight division of Higashi-Nihon Koku (now, Higashi-Nihon Sogo Keikaku, Co., Ltd.), which is spun off from the parent company.
	May.	The company’s capital increased to 66.2 million yen.
November 1989: Kyoritsu acquires first Cessna 208 Caravan, the backbone of the company’s aerial survey fleet
May 1990: Chofu Airport photograph with an analog camera.
1993	Apr.	Nagoya Operation Center opens at Nagoya Airport.
1998	Feb.	Matsuyama Operation Center opens at Matsuyama Airport.
2001	Oct.	New hanger and head office building open at Chofu Airport.
October 2001: New company office building and hangar at Chofu Airport
	Nov.	Corporate headquarters and Kanto Operation Center moved to the head office building at Chofu Airport.
2002	May.	Fukuoka Operation center opens.
2003	Oct.	Hiroshima Office opens at Hiroshima-Nishi Airport. Kitakyushu Office opens at Kitakyushu Airport.
	Nov.	Kyoritsu acquires 100% ownership of Phototechno Co., Ltd. to make it a wholly owned subsidiary.
2004	Oct.	Tohoku Operation Center renamed to Sendai Office; Kyusyu Operation Center renamed to Kumamoto Office.
	Dec.	Matsuyama Operation Center closed and merged into Hiroshima Office.
2006	May.	Nagoya Office opens a new hanger and office building at Nagoya Airport.
2007	Dec.	Kitakyushu Office opens a new hanger and office building at Kitakyushu Airport.
2008	Mar.	Kumamoto office closed and merged into Kitakyushu Office.
2010	Apr.	Kanto Office renamed to Overall Control Division. Fukuoka Office closed and merged into Kitakyushu Office.
	Jun.	Kyoritsu becomes the first private company to be contracted to operate Kunikaze III, a survey aircraft belonging to the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI).
2011	Mar.	Our Sendai Facility was affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake. Two Cessna 208 "Caravan" aircraft were swept up by the Tsunami.	March 2011: A cut model of the cockpit equipped in the damaged aircraft (JA8897) is displayed in the lobby of the head office in Chofu, Tokyo in order to tell for posterity that the 2011 East Japan Great Earthquake and Tsunami caused tremendous damage to us.
2012	Feb.	Kyoritsu adopts its first digital camera, UltraCam D.	February 2012: Kyoritsu introduces first digital cameras for aerial survey use
	Apr.	Sendai Office moved inside the Small Aircraft Hangar No.1 of Airport Facilities Co., Ltd.
	Nov.	Hiroshima Office closed as Hiroshima-Nishi Airport becomes a heliport.
2013	Jun.	Kyoritsu becomes the second company in Japan to receive the IS-BAO certification from the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC).
2015 March 2015: The use of analog cameras, which had built the foundation of aerial survey photography, come to an end	Dec.	Kansai Office opens a new hanger and office building at Yao Airport.	December 2015: New Kansai business office and hangar
2019	Apr.	Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI) contracts Kyoritsu Aerial Survey to perform aerial gravimetry surveys.

February 1972: Kyoritsu Air Survey, Japan’s first aerial survey company, begins operation

November 1989: Kyoritsu acquires first Cessna 208 Caravan, the backbone of the company’s aerial survey fleet

May 1990: Chofu Airport photograph with an analog camera.

October 2001: New company office building and hangar at Chofu Airport

March 2011: A cut model of the cockpit equipped in the damaged aircraft (JA8897) is displayed in the lobby of the head office in Chofu, Tokyo in order to tell for posterity that the 2011 East Japan Great Earthquake and Tsunami caused tremendous damage to us.

February 2012: Kyoritsu introduces first digital cameras for aerial survey use

March 2015: The use of analog cameras, which had built the foundation of aerial survey photography, come to an end

December 2015: New Kansai business office and hangar

Safety Initiatives

Our company-wide commitment to raising safety awareness not only ensures the safety of our employees, it is also how we earn the trust of the local community and our clients.

Flight Safety

Guided by our motto of “safety first,” Kyoritsu Air Survey engages in all kinds of safety promotion activities, including activities that maintain and deepen employee safety awareness and setting annual safety goals and priorities.

2022 company-wide safety goals: Maintain a perfect zero score for flight accidents
and
major incidents

2022 priority goals

Prevent the recurrence of the
same type of hazards and risks
in accordance with the HITS*
Double-check fundamental and
basic actions
Awareness and
assertion-based
risk
management

* In accordance with the International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations established by the International Business Aviation Council, Kyoritsu Air Survey continuously operates a Hazard Identification and Tracking System (HITS) in order to collect data on hazards and risks that occur during daily operation and to practice scientifically based risk management.

Safety awareness enhancement activities

Led by our workplace safety promotion personnel, a workplace safety meeting is conducted once a month at each business division and branch office to ensure that we meet our safety and priority goals and to review HITS data. Additionally, as part of our safety awareness activities, every six months all members of management and the safety promotion office manager take part in a safety promotion activities progress report meeting whose agenda includes presenting a safety action plan covering the latest period and the next period.

Emergency response training

With an emphasis on flight accidents, the entire company takes part in emergency response training that simulate the conditions of a real accident. The training confirms whether we can respond properly and rapidly to a flight emergency and provides an opportunity to uncover problems and devise ways to eliminate them.

Occupational Safety and Health

In accordance with the Industrial Safety and Health Act, Kyoritsu Air Survey has established a health committee to smoothly coordinate the company’s health management efforts.

Company health committee

The health committee discusses issues related to employee health and distributes a summary of the proceedings to employees.

Thorough infectious disease measures

To ensure the safety and health of our employees, Kyoritsu Air Survey issues restricted notifications and provides information about new work procedures to all managers and employees.

Information Security

The measures that companies need to put in place to protect their information changes every day in step with the increasing importance of information technology in daily life. With this in mind, Kyoritsu Air Survey has established an information management department responsible for establishing information management rules and for protecting, handling, and managing internal and external company information, personal information, and information handled by digital devices.

Information management

Newly implemented information security measures and timely notifying employees about suspicious information help safeguard our company against malicious cybercrimes and leaked information.

Periodic information security assessments

We conduct periodic inspections based on our information management rules. Inspections verify the operation and inventory of software and digital equipment and make sure that our network is secure and safe.