Tim Walker
A first in Japanese history a man suspected of possessing guns made on a 3-D printer, has been arrested. Yoshitomo Imura, 27 has been detained under the country’s first such case.
Officers raided Imura’s home in the city of Kawasaki on Thursday and found five 3-D printer guns, 2 of which have the potential to fire lethal bullets. Also recovered is a 3-D printer from the home Tokyo suburban home, but no ammunition for the guns, as reported by Jiji Press of Japan.
Imura’s troubles began after he posted video footage on the Internet showing himself shooting the guns. Officers suspect that Imura downloaded the blueprints for making the guns from a website hosted overseas. Imura has admitted to the allegations saying “It is true that I made them, but I did not think it was illegal”.
The escalating development of 3-D printing technology has brought about new and demanding laws associated with the development of such equipment. In December the U.S. Congress renewed a ban on guns that contain no metal. This law leads to a controversial issue that the guns cannot be detected with regular security equipment, like those found at airports.
While police officers throughout Japan are armed, the country has a very strict firearms control law. Very few people possess guns or have ever come in contact with guns in Japan.
