“Anyone with a rudimentary understanding of how weapons work could build this with minimal knowledge,” explains weapons expert Tetsuya Tsuda.
The suspect in the murder with his improvised weapon former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe he could have built it within a day or two of sourcing readily available materials such as wood or metal pipes, analysts say.
The murderous attack against the former prime minister proved that the armed violence it cannot be completely eradicated even in a country where due to strict gun laws it is almost unheard of for citizens to purchase and own guns.
There have been some cases in recent years where citizens have illegally made their own weapons in Japan. But even so, gun crime is very rare in this country: there were 10 shootings last year, six of which involved gangs, according to police figures. One person was killed and four were injured.
“Building weapons with a 3D printer and making bombs can now be done by reading the internet from anywhere in the world,” he says Mitsuru Fukuda, a professor at Nihon University who specializes in crisis management and terrorism.
“It can be done in two or three days after someone sources parts like pipes,” notes Fukuda, who analyzed photos of the weapon used to assassinate Abe.
From visual material it appears that the person arrested for the murder was holding a device that had a pistol grip and what can be seen were two pipes covered with black insulating tape.
“Anyone with a rudimentary understanding of how guns work could build this with minimal knowledge,” the weapons expert explains Tetsuya Tsuda and adds that it probably did not take even half a day to make the weapon that was used.
Japanese media reported today that the suspect told investigators he had search the internet for instructions for the manufacture of weapons and had ordered parts and gunpowder also from the internet.
The perpetrator’s weapon had dimensions of 40 by 20 cm and was made of materials such as metal and woodpolice officials in Nara, the city where the attack took place, told reporters yesterday.
The police do not even rule out the possibility bullets were improvised but says he is still looking into it.
Investigators seized five improvised weapons at the detainee’s home, the Mainichi newspaper reported today.
The man arrested for Abe’s murder told investigators he made weapons with three, five and six metal barrels in addition to the one he used in the attack, according to Japanese media.
The issue of illegal manufacture of improvised weapons is not limited to Japan. For example, officials at Spain they found in April 2021 a replica automatic rifle and smaller weapons during a raid on an illegal factory that turned out to be making weapons with a 3D printer.
RES-EMP
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