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First Arrest In Japan For 3D-Printed Guns

Posted by timothy on from the illegal-objects-around-the-world dept.

PuceBaboon (469044) writes "Earlier today (Thursday), police in Kawasaki, Japan, arrested a man for violation of the firearms control law. He was apparently in possession of five, 3D-printed handguns, two of which were reportedly capable of firing normal rounds (although no actual bullets were found). The suspect was arrested after releasing video of the guns online. Japan has very strict gun control laws and, whether or not the suspect actually appeared in the alleged video, he may just have signed himself up for some serious porridge."

1 of 274 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Hey Tim by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    There is plenty of violent crime in Japan. The difference between their violent crime and violent crime in the United States is that Japan's guns laws are very highly restrictive. I can still remember reading an interview a gaming website did with a mid-level yakuza, who they had play Yakuza 4. He remarked that none of the actual yakuza use guns, because the cops there will arrest on sight if they see someone carrying one. Instead, they tend to snatch people off the streets and use the $5 wrench approach.

    I also wouldn't be surprised if the violent crime rate in Japan, especially by organized crime, is under-reported. One of the main slang terms for the yakuza translates to "the office", a remark on how big of an institution organized crime is in the country, to the point where it's almost like a business.

    While I'm sure the yakuza don't account for 100% of violent crime there, I'd be willing to bet they account for quite a bit.