An American tourist visiting Japan entered the country with a handgun and was arrested after self-reporting. The tourist reportedly passed through security at Kansai International Airport without incident, raising security concerns.
According to NHK on 2nd, an American tourist, Mr. A (73), self-reported that he had a handgun in his bag at the Kobe Port cruise terminal on the 23rd of last month. Port authorities notified the police, leading to Mr. A's arrest on charges of violating the firearms and swords control law.
Mr. A departed from Honolulu International Airport in Hawaii on the 21st of last month and arrived at Kansai International Airport the following day on the 22nd. After staying at a hotel in Osaka for one night, he moved to Kobe Port on the 23rd for a cruise trip. While organizing his luggage, he discovered the handgun but did not report it immediately, and after arriving at the terminal, he removed three loaded bullets and disposed of them in a restroom trash bin.
During police questioning, Mr. A stated, "I accidentally put the handgun in my bag and realized it at the Osaka hotel," adding, "I thought I would face a harsher penalty if I also had the bullets, so I disposed of the bullets at the Kobe Port terminal." The police later recovered the three bullets from the terminal restroom.
Authorities are investigating the circumstances, noting that Mr. A passed through security checks at both Honolulu Airport and Kansai Airport while carrying the handgun. Akira Tozaki, a professor at Sakura Mibayashi University, said, "This reveals the limitations of human judgment," and added, "When entering Kansai Airport, security often relies on the departing country's checks, so not all baggage undergoes thorough inspection."
Osaka Customs, responsible for baggage inspections for incoming passengers at Kansai Airport, stated regarding the incident, "We cannot disclose individual inspection details." This incident occurred about a month before the opening of the Osaka-Kansai Expo. Osaka Customs announced it would strengthen measures to prevent smuggling of firearms and terror-related materials.