HOKKAIDO - A 77-year-old hunter from Sunagawa, Hokkaido, who won a Supreme Court ruling overturning the revocation of his firearms license, filed a damages lawsuit against the national government and Hokkaido on August 17 after discovering that one of four seized hunting rifles had been destroyed years earlier without being returned to him.
"I thought something unbelievable had happened. No one imagined they would have disposed of it, and it never even crossed my mind," said Haruo Ikegami, who is seeking compensation over what he says was the unlawful revocation of his firearms permit and the disposal of the seized weapon.
Ikegami shot and killed a bear in August 2018 at the request of Sunagawa city authorities.
His firearms possession permit was subsequently revoked on the grounds that there had been a risk the bullet could reach a building, and four hunting rifles in his possession were seized.
Ikegami challenged Hokkaido's action in court, arguing that the revocation was illegal.
In March 2026, the Supreme Court ruled that the action was unlawful, handing Ikegami a victory.
"The ruling reached a conclusion that allows people to rely on hunters with peace of mind. I thought it was a very good judgment," Ikegami said.
A further problem emerged about two weeks later, when the four seized firearms were due to be returned.
"This is not the gun in question. I want them to return that gun quickly," Ikegami said after learning that the rifle he had used during the bear cull was missing.
The Sapporo District Public Prosecutors Office had disposed of the rifle in July 2019, before the lawsuit seeking cancellation of the administrative action had begun.
According to Ikegami's lawyer, Noriaki Nakamura, prosecutors said Ikegami had submitted a document relinquishing ownership of the weapon and that it was destroyed after the investigation ended.
"The prosecutors' explanation was that Ikegami submitted a document abandoning ownership, and that the gun was disposed of after the investigation was completed. I feel extremely angry about this," Nakamura said.
The Sapporo District Public Prosecutors Office said Ikegami had signed a document during the investigation relinquishing ownership of the hunting rifle and that it was disposed of properly under formal procedures.
At a news conference on August 17, Ikegami expressed anger over the prosecutors' handling of the weapon.
"If I had understood that relinquishing the property meant the hunting rifle would disappear, I would never have signed it," he said.
The destroyed rifle had been given to Ikegami by a fellow hunter and was kept as a memento, according to Ikegami.
Ikegami is seeking a combined total of about 430,000 yen in damages from Hokkaido and the national government.
"If the authorities were going to take a gun away from Ikegami after he had received permission to possess it, shouldn't they have done so through the proper administrative procedures?" Nakamura said.
The Sapporo District Public Prosecutors Office said it would refrain from commenting because it had not yet received the complaint.
Source: 北海道ニュースUHB
