Welcome to the board. I hope you get to shoot your rifles soon. Do I understand you correctly that you live and own rifles in Japan? Are you a civilian or a government officer?
Hello,
While I cannot answer for OP, I can answer in regards to "live and own rifles in Japan"....
It is not illegal to own rifles and shotguns in Japan as a civilian (To own a pistol as a civilian you must be licensed as a researcher and using them for research and testing)....it is just a difficult and severely regulated procedure.
Their current legislation - 1958 Law Controlling The Possession of Firearms and Swords has been amended several times since its original signing but is the legal standard of Japan.
The first article of the 1958 Law states that its aim is to provide control measures necessary to prevent danger and injury arising from
shoji (possession) of guns, swords, etc.
Shoji means that an object is under the control of a person. It includes storing and carrying. The possession of guns and their parts is strictly limited to law enforcement officials, members of the Self-Defense Force, other public officials, and persons who have obtained permission from the government to use them for a specific purpose, such as hunters, target shooters, athletes who compete in national or international competitions, firearms dealers, manufacturers, firearm exporters, and antique-gun collectors. The transfer, loan, and borrowing of guns and their parts are also restricted.The term “guns” in this law means pistols, rifles, machine guns, hunting guns, other powder-charging firearms that have a mechanism for shooting metal bullets, and air guns with power specified by a Cabinet Office Ordinance.
To obtain permission to possess a gun, a person must file an application with the Public Safety Commission of the prefecture where he or she lives specifying the gun to be in his or her possession and the purpose of its use. The kind of gun permitted to be possessed is limited, depending on the purpose of the possession. Among the guns included are
- hunting guns (rifles and shotguns) or air guns, excluding air pistols, to be used for target shooting, hunting, or extermination of harmful birds and animals;
- special guns used in specific businesses, such as lifesaving, slaughterhouses, fisheries, and construction;
- guns for testing or research; and
- pistols and air pistols to be used in international athletic competitions when recommended by a person designated by Cabinet order.
There are LOTS of other stipulations and requirements BUT it is legal.
Sincerely,
THEIS
