By Dean Weingarten
Arizona – -(Ammoland.com)- A 3D printing hobbyist, Yoshitomo Imura, was arrested in Japan for suspicion of possessing crude guns that had been printed from plans available on the Internet.
He had posted videos on the Internet showing him demonstrating the items.
They appear to be firing crude blanks, or perhaps homemade ammunition of some kind. The recoil in the video is suspiciously straight back, with virtually no rotation, indicating that it may be simulated. . From thebangladeshtoday.com:
Mr Imura reportedly said he had not realised printing the guns was illegal.
No ammunition was found for the crude, plastic guns.
At the Defense Distributed WikiWep DevBlog, this comment was published without attribution, though I suspect it was written by Cody Wilson:
I have often been asked who the first person to be arrested for 3D gun printing would be. My answer was the creative and curious. Yoshitomo Imura is a person of strong character and virtue under unfavorable circumstances. He expressed with his work only virtue, but this virtue is ostracized by his society. He performed his work in the open, without suspicion, fear or dishonor. That he must harvest persecution and calamity for his creative and intrepid instincts is an indictment of his tame and mediocre society.Yoshitomo Imura is trying to say something profound.- is trying to be profound. I hope Mr. Imura’s attitude to his instincts is not reversed by the tomb-like atmosphere which will now cloud his life.
c2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included. Link to Gun Watch
About Dean Weingarten;
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of constitutional carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and recently retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.
Maybe Japan ought to focus on the Fukishima nuclear cleanup instead of a non-existent gun problem? After all, the “anti-gun” crusaders tout Japan as having one of the lowest “gun crime” rates in the world. Apparently that rate is so low that Japanese “gun enforcers” have to arrest a hobbyist with a 3-D printer on suspicion. What’s next being arrested for talking about guns? It must be the radioactivity? LOL
I was surprised he had a revolver.
Photo images also on Washington Post and The Guardian.