Wednesday, October 22, 2014

3D-printed Gun Maker in Japan Sentenced to Two Years in Prison

Japan man jailed for making guns with 3D printer
Yoshitomo Imura

The Verge

A 28-year-old former university employee was sentenced today in Japan to two years in prison for manufacturing plastic 3D-printed firearms in violation of national weapons laws, according to The Japan News. Yoshitomo Imura is said to have created at least two plastic guns at his home in Kawaski, Japan, that were capable of firing bullets, according to the report. He appears to be the first person in world history to receive a jail sentence for making 3D-printed firearms.

Imura was previously an employee at the Shonan Institute of Technology, according to The Japan Times. He was arrested in May after posting videos and blueprints of his 3D-printed weapons online. Police reportedly seized five plastic weapons from his home. A video uploaded to file-sharing websites almost a year ago, allegedly created by Imura, shows the creation and firing of a 3D-printed "Zig Zag" revolver capable of firing six .38 caliber bullets, as Wired previously reported. While the prosecution in Imura's case called for a three-and-a-half year prison sentence, the judge certainly didn't go easy on Imura, saying he "flaunted his skills and knowledge and attempted to make gun controls toothless."

9 comments:

  1. My take on it. Kind of a "bad news, good news" thing. Yeah, a guy is losing two years of his life for a victimless "crime," but the good news is that it demonstrates that even ultra-draconian Japanese-style "gun control" can be defeated when the masses are empowered to produce their own firearms.

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    1. "Victimless crime?" Not if those guns end up killing someone, or used to commit crimes. We know that legally produced guns end up doing that all the time.

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    2. Kirt, I didn't get the impression that the gun control in Japan was in the process of being defeated. Is that what you understood?

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    3. Kirt [sic], I didn't get the impression that the gun control in Japan was in the process of being defeated. Is that what you understood?

      Oh, it will take a while, but how does a hyper-authoritarian government keep the people disarmed when they can produce the weapons themselves? Keep in mind that Imura was caught only because he made no effort to cover his tracks (and in fact actively publicized his exploits).

      Others will be more circumspect, and there will be no stopping them.

      I can hardly wait.

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    4. Typical criminal thinking. He can't wait til the dead pile up because of illegally produced guns. He's cheering for it. Sick.

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    5. You're delusional, Kurt. But do let us know when the revolution for gun rights explodes in Japan.

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    6. They couldn't stop Imura from arming himself--that's a "defeat" (on an admittedly very small scale) right there. So who can they stop?

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    7. In the delusional world of gun-rights fanaticism, Kurt Hofmann style, the tyrannical Japanese government is about to be overthrown by violent revolution, the true patriots using 3D printed weapons.

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    8. In the delusional world of gun-rights fanaticism, Kurt Hofmann style, the tyrannical Japanese government is about to be overthrown by violent revolution, the true patriots using 3D printed weapons.

      Wait a second, by your definition, then, "gun control" is not "defeated" until the government imposing it is "overthrown by violent revolution"?

      Until that happens, then, "gun control" is "winning," accomplishing its goals? Funny--I thought you set the bar much higher than that.

      To my way of thinking, "gun control" is defeated every time anyone acquires a gun that the government has forbidden that person to have, but if you want to declare "victory" and go home, despite the people's access to the guns they want, without the government's permission or even knowledge, more power to you.

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