Police arrested 27-year-old Yoshitomo Imura, a university official from Kawasaki City, after he posted a video of himself firing a 3D-printed six shooter called the Zig Zag revolver. Imura was employed at the Shonan Institute of Technology and owned a $500 home 3D printer.
The trouble started when Imura printed and fired theZig Zag in a video posted 25 weeks ago. In the video we see him assemble the primitive gun and fire blanks. Imura wrote:
Please make in the United States. !! –
It appears that Imura raised hackles in Japan back in March when the Zig Zag first appeared onJapanese television. This week police raided his home and found five 3D-printed guns as well as his cheap 3D printer.
Japan has long upheld the Japanese Firearm and Sword Act which essentially outlaws guns in the country. Thelaw states:
Unless otherwise provided by a specific provision, the Law prohibits the following: possession of a firearm, handgun part, handgun ammunition, imitation handgun, or a mock arm with intent to sell; import of an Article 3-4 Handgun, a handgun part, or handgun ammunition;” conveyance of an Article 3-4 Handgun, a handgun part, or handgun ammunition; receipt of an Article 3-4 Handgun, a handgun part, or handgun ammunition;’ the firing of an Article 3-4 Handgun in a public place such as a public road, park, station, theater, and department store or on or at public transportation; the carrying of a sword with a blade length of greater than six centimeters, or an imitation sword;
What does this mean for the future of 3D-printed guns in Japan? Clearly the police see the manufacture of any firearm to be an offense and the same goes for the 3D-printed models. In short, the police treated Imura as if he had manufactured a firearm using more traditional methods. Regardless of medium and material, then, a gun is a gun.
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