American transit passenger with handgun arrested at Narita

Thursday 08th October, 07:32 AM JST

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

› Login to comment

Latest 15 of 152 Total Comments Show All

bdiego at 07:18 AM JST - 10th October

If what woman said was true, it would be trivial to bring a gun into Japan. Or ten. No, the x-ray machines are the primary catch for carry on. Enough cool aid.

People should never underestimate ignorance and stupidity. Almost 99% of the time in Texas airports, the guy simply forgot he had a gun on him. It's Texas.

Simply having a gun in Japan is a serious crime, they're reserved only for police and the SDF. Bringing a gun onto an airplane save for air marshals, that's a whole different ballpark.
flatearther at 07:53 AM JST - 10th October

Love how this thread has even invented it's own conspiracy theory about this now.This guy is NOT an agent with any organization. No agent would be stupid enough to be caught with a gun, if they were carrying a gun on a plane in the first place. Secondly, they wouldn't carry a loaded gun into an airplane anyway. Thirdly, if agents were/are as dumb as this guy, we are all doomed.
If woman actually knew anybody who knows "the truth" she certainly wouldn't be spouting off about it on an internet forum. Leave the fairy tales for bedtime, honey.

Face facts. This guy was just some new money Texan SOB who thought he had the right to carry a gun anywhere he felt like.
grafton at 08:30 AM JST - 10th October

Klein2 at 12:24 AM JST - 10th October

I understand only too well what guns can mean to an individual, I used to collect them, I liked them as incredible little machines, which is what they are and I am a quite good gunsmith. But I have never gone out shooting animals, that I could never understand or do. One day an old hand gun that I had just bought went off while being loaded, the safety was on and it still went off. I was lucky, the kitchen wall wasn’t. All my guns, working or not were kept under lock and key, and they were only ever loaded when I was about to use the, one at a time. I like them but know what they can do and yes they are frightening things, which is what they should be. Because I have moved about the world quite a lot I had to give up my collection. And in a strange sort of way I am pleased about that, because today I would find it hard to defend anyone that collect functional weapons, even myself. All this leads me to believe that this lunatic is a liar, there is no possible way he didn’t know that gun was in his bag. Anybody that has ever owned and fired a gun never forgets where it is. I really hope that we find out more about why this fool had this gun with him, but I suspect we will never get to the truth. America doe not like having egg on it’s face and you can bet there is a massive amount of pressure being put on Japan at this moment to sweep this under the carpet.
boboh at 03:13 PM JST - 10th October

Well done, America, for making the skies safe and for responsibly spending millions of $s on airport security. Good jooooooobbbb (im giving a big thumbs up, too).
guest at 03:51 PM JST - 10th October

What about leaving security in the hands of the passangers.

or putting everyone on the flight to sleep
Farmboy at 08:21 AM JST - 11th October

Maybe they were trying the Texan solution to terrorism, which was to arm everyone on board, and this guy was the only one they caught.
nandakandamanda at 09:40 AM JST - 11th October

Quote flatearther: "What your stance may be on American gun rights is of zero importance here. In Japan, the law is VERY clear. NO GUNS, EVER! Taking a weapon into Japan is reprehensible and indefensible, no matter how you personally feel."

You're right. Absolutely no-one in Japan, except the Yakuza and the Police, carries a gun.

What is outrageous here is a) he was carrying a gun on an international flight b) it was in his hand baggage, c) it was loaded, and d) it passed unchecked out of a country with the most sophisticated scanning equipment available.

The fact of his being an American is tangential to the story, IMHO.
Noliving at 09:41 AM JST - 11th October

I think it is a little obvious that he knew the gun was there the entire time. He is obviously not going to admit knowing that the firearm was in there as he knows he would be admitting to not only violating Japan's laws but all other countries he visited along with USA own gun laws in terms of taking a firearm out of the country.
Cicada at 04:22 PM JST - 11th October

The guy will probably sue the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport security, for being so lax as to let him through with a gun, causing his arrest in Japan.
boboh at 04:42 PM JST - 11th October

Cicada, don`t you mean "so LAX" ha ha.
JakeBird at 09:27 PM JST - 11th October

What most people are missing here is that Americans are entitled to own guns if they want to. Its a natural thing and Americans are responsible enough to carry a gun if they want to exercise the Constitution. Freedom means owning a gun.
flatearther at 09:45 PM JST - 11th October

@JakeBird- You're right, it is your right to own and carry a gun, IN AMERICA. Just as it's your right to smoke marijuana IN THE NETHERLANDS. This is about a man who broke the laws of another country, NOT GUN RIGHTS. Please go elsewhere for that debate. As a citizen of one country, you do have rights, but those rights do not necessarily apply in other countries.
Laws in other countries are different, and it is YOUR responsibility as a visitor or resident of a foreign country to know those laws. In Japan, the drinking age is 20. By your argument, a Japanese citizen should be able to walk into an American bar and get a drink, flouting America's legal drinking age.
Do you think that's right? Fair?
Or is it exceptionally disrespectful? In this case, what this man did was not only disrespectful but extremely dangerous. There is no defense I can give, as an American, for a person so stupid, rude, disrespectful and dangerous. I hope they throw the book at him.
peachy871 at 02:23 PM JST - 12th October

When preparing for an overseas trip, knowing how much the U.S. has raised the level of security, you would think that a person would check his/her bags before throwing stuff in them to pack. But maybe I am crazy to think so.

This guy could be a great guy but to forget that he left a gun in his bag??? A LOADED gun?? That doesn't really sound like someone responsible enough to carry a gun if they want to exercise the Constitution.

But the issue here is not the right to own a gun. The issues are: knowing the basic laws and rights in the country you are going to visit; being careless and irresponsible about owning a firearm; and something that should have been obvious and easy to spot on the most simplistic of scanners bypassing the most sophisticated equipment in the world (or someone asleep on the job not looking at the monitor).
Sarge at 09:31 PM JST - 12th October

I'm glad they caught this guy.
morriconelover at 09:19 PM JST - 13th October

americans and guns. At least it makes for good jokes here in europe.