JAKARTA -  Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said new rules for carrying mobile batteries on aircraft will take effect on Friday, April 24, limiting passengers to two units and banning in-flight charging. 

The announcement was made in a press release dated April 14 by the ministry’s Aviation Bureau Safety Policy Division. The ministry said the change follows incidents of smoke and fire involving mobile batteries on board aircraft both in Japan and overseas. 

It also said an emergency revision to international standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) was approved by the ICAO Council on March 27, local time, and applied immediately. Japan said it was revising its own standards to conform with that change. 

Under the new rules, passengers may bring on board up to two mobile batteries, each limited to 160Wh or less. The ministry said, “Do not charge mobile batteries on board,” and, “Do not charge other electronic devices from mobile batteries on board.”

The passenger notice also says power banks are prohibited in checked baggage and must be carried into the cabin, while batteries must be individually protected against short circuit and not stored in overhead bins, but kept close at hand such as in a seat pocket. The ministry said violations of items 1–3 and 5–6 in the passenger notice may be subject to penalties under the Aviation Act. 

“Recently, with the global increase in lithium-ion battery-related fires on aircraft, the need for risk management has grown, and the ICAO has been considering countermeasures,” the press release reads. 

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has recently logged 97 lithium-battery incidents involving smoke, fire or extreme heat on flights in 2025, up from 89 in 2024. 

Now, America’s Southwest Airlines said that it’s also limiting passengers to one lithium portable charger per flight, banning those chargers from being stored in overhead bins, and prohibiting recharging them using in-seat power starting April 20. 

Last year, an Air Busan Airbus A321ceo caught fire at Gimhae International Airport in Busan while preparing to depart for Hong Kong. South Korea’s transport ministry then said a spare power bank was a possible cause, with scorch marks found on battery debris.