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3ders.org has an article on the conclusion of a trial in Japan of a man for making a 3D printed gun.
Earlier today, a verdict was reached in the infamous 3D printed gun trial that was being held in the Yokohama District Court in Tokyo, Japan. Presiding Judge Koji Inaba found the 28-year-old Yoshitomo Imura, a former teacher at a local college, guilty of violating laws controlling firearms and swords. For printing at least two workable guns using a 3D printer, Imura was sentenced to two years in prison.
Since Imura's arrest in May, a number of Japanese distributors of 3D printing technology have organized a '3D printer Promotion Council' to both educate people about the possibilities of this technology, but also to warn consumers of its dangers. They are currently looking into possibilities to avoid such events in the future, including better cooperation between the industry and the government and a blacklist of design data.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Sir Garlon on Monday October 20 2014, @03:27PM
TFA is heavy on photos and light on details, but the salient sentence seems to be:
In other words, owning a 3D printer is not a license to own firearms in Japan. Not exactly shocking. Presumably if the guns had been legal to own and hand-make in Japan, Imura would not have been charged with a crime. It's hard to tell.
I will say "I didn't know it was illegal to possess a working firearm without a license" is not much of a legal defense.
What I'm trying to say is it looks like the object of manufacture, not the method of manufacture, was the critical element of the case. It seems to me much more about gun laws than about there being anything special about 3D printing. (One can argue whether gun laws are good or bad, but I submit that is a separate topic.)
The antithesis, that guns should get a free pass from existing regulation *if and only if* they were manufactured by 3D printing, is ridiculous. I don't think anyone is trying to defend that position.
[Sir Garlon] is the marvellest knight that is now living, for he destroyeth many good knights, for he goeth invisible.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 20 2014, @04:39PM
A revolution is needed in japan. The rulers need to be tortured to death.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Monday October 20 2014, @05:06PM
Political apathy in Japan is well known.
Apathy rules Japan youth (1996) [timeshighereducation.co.uk]
Start the Revolution Without Me - Why Japanese Are Apathetic About Politics (2011) [hikosaemon.com]
Why Do Young People in Japan Today Have so Little Interest in Politics? (2012) [mitacampus.com]
Youth Voter Apathy Threatening 'Breakdown' in Japanese Democracy (2012) [storify.com]
Will Japan's Politics Change After the End of the Divided Diet? Interpreting the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly and Upper House Elections (2013) [yomiuri.co.jp]
Has Japan's youth lost interest in politics? (2014) [farbeyondthemiyako.com]
Politics of Japan [wikipedia.org]
It will stay that way as long as the system sort of works.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 21 2014, @02:04AM
likely on behalf of others as well, thank you for the links =)
(Score: 2) by tathra on Monday October 20 2014, @10:18PM
revolution is why guns and swords are illegal in japan, or at least part of it. when the meiji era was ushered in by revolutionaries otherthrowing the Shogunate, it became illegal to carry swords. guns were already highly controlled by the shogunate, and those laws stayed in place (or were strengthened) during the meiji era since they were trying to disarm the population to fully eliminate feudalism and the class system.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 21 2014, @03:15PM
They need to revolt and kill their masters.