Photo/Illutration Police display the illegally reactivated firearms that were confiscated on Dec. 7 in Fukuoka’s Minami Ward. (Yuka Suzuki)

FUKUOKA--A 33-year-old man from Saitama Prefecture was rearrested on Dec. 7 on suspicion of selling 11 guns that had been deactivated and restored to a firing condition. 

Daichi Yoshida, a company executive, is accused of selling two men the reactivated rifles and machine guns for a total of around 4.43 million yen ($30,935) between February 2020 and October 2022, according to Fukuoka prefectural police.

Police have not disclosed whether the suspect has admitted to the allegations.

The two buyers, an unemployed man from Hiroshima, 34, and a doctor, 49, from Itami, Hyogo Prefecture, were referred to prosecutors on Nov. 17.

Yoshida allegedly purchased deactivated firearms from domestic dealers before making them functional again. Such non-firing guns are sold legally for decorative purposes.

Police confiscated a total of 26 illegally reactivated firearms from the homes and related locations of the three men, but no live rounds were found.

Previously, Yoshida was arrested on Nov. 16 for keeping three rifles at his home in Kawagoe, Saitama Prefecture, in July.

Police determined that the buyer from Hiroshima purchased rifle parts on an online auction, following a report from a member of the public in April.

Subsequently, investigators seized 15 operable guns, including military rifles, from the home and related locations of the man.

The raid was conducted as part of pre-emptive security measures ahead of the Group of Seven summit held in May in Hiroshima.

(This article was written by Noriki Nishioka and Yuka Suzuki.)

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