The Japanese government has adopted a bill to impose penalties for explanations on the internet of how to manufacture guns and inciting unlawful possession of firearms.
The bill is also aimed at toughening requirements to qualify for possessing a so-called half-rifle hunting gun, which was used in the murder of a police officer in Nagano Prefecture in May last year.
The government plans to submit the bill to the ongoing parliamentary session. The bill also follows the 2022 murder of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with a homemade gun.
The bill carries a penalty of up to one year in prison or a fine of up to ¥300,000 for openly encouraging gun ownership, including by posting videos on how to make a gun or blueprints for 3D-printed guns on the internet.
To own half-rifles, which are currently legal for beginner gun owners, people will be required to have a record of possessing a hunting gun license for at least 10 consecutive years, the same as the requirement for owning rifles under the current law.
However, the government will accept applications for possessing half-rifles even by beginners in certain areas of the country, after the prefectural government of Hokkaido, which is struggling to deal with damage caused by Yezo deer and other animals, opposed the tougher requirements for ownership.