OSAKA (Kyodo) -- A drone was detected flying near the Chinese pavilion at the World Exposition site in Osaka on Friday, despite a ban on such flights for security reasons, police said, prompting authorities to question its operator.

The operator, believed to be a Chinese man, is suspected of violating an Osaka prefectural ordinance banning drone flights, in principle, within 1 kilometer of the artificial island of Yumeshima on which the expo site is located, according to local police.

The incident on Friday afternoon took place just two days before the global event opens. The ordinance says the ban is in place from Jan. 19 to Oct. 13, when the expo ends.

The police said it was not known whether the man possessed a permit to fly the drone. The drone did not cause any damage to the pavilion.

The Osaka prefectural police have introduced jamming equipment to prevent illegal drone flights.