The gun laws in Japan are incredibly strict, so needless to say making a firearm in your own home is a crime roughly on par with being a terrorist. One 27-year-old Japanese man is finding that out the hard way after being arrested earlier today in Japan’s Kawasaki City on charges of illegal possession of a firearm. The man was found to have a copy of Cody Wilson’s Liberator handgun in his home, along with some pretty cool looking designs cooked up by the Shonan Institute of Technology student himself . . .
From the local news (Engrish translation in the original) . . .
Staff and Imura KeiTomo suspect of Shonan Institute of Technology (27), allegedly at his home in Kawasaki City, was in possession of two guns handgun made of resin, which was prepared in 3D printer has been no. Of the handgun of 5 Ding last month, police seized from the home, mainly because the bullet that was fired from two guns is through the more than 10 plywood, I have determined that there is lethal. The seen and downloaded the blueprint of handguns from overseas sites, Imura suspect was discovered from the fact that his team was in the post to video sites a gun that is manufactured or blueprint. Imura suspect will not allow the suspect, “the police if you were recognized as handguns, there is no ginger also been arrested” he said. Seizure of handgun made with 3D printers will be the first time in Japan. “YouTube videos from the suspect were posted by”
Some of the guns shown in the video at the above link are pretty impressive.
This might be the first time that someone has actually been arrested for printing one of Wilson’s creations overseas. According to the story the man didn’t realize that printing the gun was illegal.
From a more comprehensible story about the arrest at japantimes.co.jp:
Imura, who purchased a 3-D printer for around ¥60,000 on the Internet, was quoted as telling investigators during the search, “I produced the guns, but I didn’t think it was illegal.”
“I can’t complain about the arrest if the police regard them as real guns,” he reportedly said.
Things really are different in the inscrutable east.