Japanese authorities arrested a 27-year-old man on Thursday for using a 3D printer to print handguns, some of which could shoot and kill.
According to Ars Technica, local media outlet ANN News (via Kotaku) said authorities seized five plastic pistols from the home of the suspect, Yoshitomo Imura, who lives in the southern suburbs of Tokyo. The guns were made of yellow, blue and white plastic, according to images released by the police. Police chief Kanagawa said they also found blueprints he had downloaded from the Internet to make the guns.
“I made the guns with the 3D printer I have at home. I don’t think it was illegal,” said Yoshitomo Imura. He later tweeted that “these restrictions are a violation of human rights.” Japan’s gun violence rate is one of the lowest in any industrialized country. Guns are not illegal in the country, but buyers face a number of background checks and other hurdles.
One of the first 3D-printed revolvers is the “Liberator” revolver that we published last year.
