Jul 07 (soranews24.com) - In October of 2019, a 54-year-old man was arrested in a parking lot in Nerima, Tokyo for having two revolvers in his possession. Possession of firearms is a relatively rare crime in Japan anyway, but this case was especially odd due to the fact that each gun was only about 7 centimeters (2.76 inches) long.
The police were tipped off by customs officials in a Kawasaki post office who noticed small amounts of gunpowder in a package from the USA that was addressed to the suspect. After being caught slightly red-handed, the man admitted to purchasing the puny pistols, claiming, “I had them for self-defense.â€
It would seem that the reason charges are only being pressed now is that the police weren’t clear whether these revolvers were technically weapons. But after investigating them, they were judged to have “lethal force.â€