Legal Japan to tighten gun laws

On Friday, Japan's parliament amended the Firearms and Swords Control Law, which now prohibits the online dissemination of instructions for creating firearms and encouraging illegal weapon possession. This move comes as a response to the incident involving the homemade gun used in the assassination of former PM Abe. The revised law, effective in July, criminalizes the act of inciting or promoting unauthorized gun ownership through any means, including the Internet, with penalties of up to one year in prison or fines reaching JPY300,000. The bill's enactment by the House of Councilors follows its approval in the House of Representatives earlier in April.

According to the National Police Agency, the penalties will be applied in cases such as encouraging unlawful possession by posting online videos or blueprints for guns and making offers to sell guns with contact information and prices. The crime of firing firearms will be applied to users of hunting or homemade guns, just like handguns. If people are found to have possessed hunting or handmade guns intending to injure or kill others, the same penalties will be applied to those possessing handguns. In light of the use of a so-called half-rifle, which is a type of hunting gun, in an incident last May in the city of Nakano in Nagano Prefecture that ended with the deaths of four people, Japan will introduce stricter conditions on who can possess half-rifles. Currently, even beginners are allowed to possess half-rifles. Under the revised law, half rifles will be classified as long-range rifles, meaning that the conditions of possessing such firearms will include at least ten years of hunting gun ownership.

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Japan is set to revise its firearm regulations, particularly for half-rifles, allowing beginners in selected regions to possess them after completing mandatory procedures. These include notifying local authorities and police, with Hokkaido being a prime example due to its high demand for hunting local wildlife. The updated rules are expected to take effect within nine months following the law's official announcement. To ensure public safety, individuals with a history of drug abuse or criminal activity will be barred from gun ownership. Additionally, the police will conduct thorough interviews with references provided by the applicant to confirm their mental stability and lack of involvement in any disturbances.

Just wondering? Do they still sell fake guns that look like the real thing? When I was there in 71 , you could buy cap guns and toy guns that were almost identical to the real ones. I bought home a cap gun 1911 Colt 45 auto that you could swap it's parts onto a real gun with only the barrel being different.

I've seen many realistic model kits in shops, but I am unsure whether they could be converted into functioning firearms.

Mine was made of some kind of cheap pot metal that would have blown up with a real bullet. It came with some really loud caps that caused a flame to come out the barrel when fired. The grips and magazine were identical to a government issued 45. I bought it because I always had a soft spot for 1911's , LOL. I found my uncle's he bought back from WWI when I was 5 and until this day it's my favorite gun to own. Police often have a hard time dealing with look-a-likes , and many people have been shot by the police with them. Many states now require fakes guns to have a big bright orange part at the end of the barrel. It was my love of guns and shooting that made me decide not to live in Japan when I got out of the Navy.

thomas said:

I've seen many realistic model kits in shops, but I am unsure whether they could be converted into functioning firearms.

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They're very realistic but can't be converted into a functioning gun. But they're realistic enough so that you could easily get yourself killed if you used them in a threatening manner in the U.S. If you ever want to commit suicide-by-cop that would be the way to do it.

Haha we couldn't pass basic gun control to save our lives (literally) in the States, and Japan is just out here running circles around us.

I've seen a few shops in Japan that looked like army surplus, and they had very realistic looking replicas. I probably have photos of the shop fronts because it was such an unusual sight.