How the Kumamoto earthquake raised the profile of a Japanese drone maker

TechnologyLiberaware drew on lessons from past disasters but faces hurdles to scaling up outputDrones such as Liberaware's lightweight IBIS2 supported the rescue and recovery efforts that followed the Kumamoto earthquake in late July. (Source photos by Liberaware and Max Kogyo)KAZUYUKI OKUDAIRAAugust 27, 2026 03:08 JSTTOKYO -- Japan-made drones played a role in rescue efforts that followed the earthquake that rocked Kumamoto prefecture nearly one month ago, showing the progress and challenges in an industry dominated by Chinese manufacturers.