Japan has a reputation for safety. Part of that is due, in no small part, to its strict gun regulations. Guns are only allowed for hunting, and punishments for illegal ownership are stiff.
Which raises the question: what was a rocket launcher doing in the middle of a field in Kitakyushu?!
A man and a woman in their 70s discovered the device in the grass along a riverbank back in May. It had a case and what appeared to be an actual missile. The couple called police, who also found what looked like a hand grenade nearby.
Fukuoka Prefecture police confirmed this week that, yes, the device was a rocket launcher – and yes, it was in working condition.
Police are investigating the weapon, possession of which (clearly) violates the country’s firearms control law. They suspect that a criminal organization is responsible.
Gun laws are so strict in Japan that even Japan’s infamous yakuza mobsters typically don’t carry them. The most notable shooting in Japan in recent memory – the shooting of former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo – was carried out by a former Self-Defense Forces member with a homemade weapon.
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