Japanese captain in U.S. Army charged over equipment exports

Tuesday 22nd July, 02:38 PM JST

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Badsey at 04:01 AM JST - 23rd July

he will walk away from this easy = this is the common sight the GIs in action are buying. Anybody and their mom can purchase these. (this is not military spec equipment, but retail/consumer equipment) In fact the military doesn't spec the soldiers with this sight, -the GIs had to buy them theirselves.

So if I bought mres and sent them to Japan I could be in violation of exporting "military equipment" to Japan.
sharky1 at 04:22 AM JST - 23rd July

He may have changed his citizenship, but his ethnicity remains the same. Therefore, saying that this man is Japanese is correct, even though he is a US citizen. More than likely he will be fined for failing to get an export license. Nothing criminal about this issue at all.
KitsuneYoukai at 05:21 AM JST - 23rd July

The US legal system here has to go forth and do it's job and if he is found guilty or not that's for the Judge and Jury to decide. Either way the fact that you can buy this kind of equipment anywhere is besides the point. He is a US Army Captain and is bound by more stringent laws and regulations than a citizen but I believe the real problem arose from not obtaining permission or clearance. As a military guy he knew this was procedure and failure to do so got him into trouble. If he has nothing to hide why not go through legal channels to get approval. Not going this route only casts suspicion that perhaps he knew he would not get permission and so he did it anyway.
Badsey at 07:35 AM JST - 23rd July

this guy will walk. These are federal laws.

If the government wants to go after me for conspiring to export (high-tech) 100Yen LED flashlights to Japan illegally (that could be put on a barrel of a gun for military purposes) let them.

A fine at most. I don't see a conspiracy here when you do it blatantly either.
telecasterplayer at 07:35 AM JST - 23rd July

..allegedly conspired with a partner from around 2006 through February 2008 to purchase night-vision sights and gun parts from a company in Illinois and export them to Japan without obtaining U.S. government approval.

Can't you just buy this stuff on the internet?

Besides, Remembering the govt's treatment of Wen Ho Lee and others.. this could be just another pentagon cluster funk
Nippon5 at 07:47 AM JST - 23rd July

America is a country not a ethnic group... He is a Japanese man who has American citizenship. His crime has nothing to do with him being in the military it has to do with bypassing tariff taxes and export laws. He will be fined like any white collar crime, but the military has its own laws called the UCMJ and depending if the Military sees a violation of the UCMJ he may be charged in the military too..
Molenir at 09:20 AM JST - 23rd July

Yeah, the military holds their people to a much different, and higher standard, particularly their officers. It really depends what he was exporting, and how sensitive they consider it to be. The whole mailing gun parts to Japan though, I'd think Japan would have something to say about that though as well.
timorborder at 09:58 AM JST - 23rd July

the military holds their people to a much different, and higher standard, particularly their officers

Really? William Calley did not get the noose? Orifices have also side-stepped the bullet more recently in atrocity cases in Iraq. I think the days of holding officers to a higher standard are long gone.
UnagiDon at 10:03 AM JST - 23rd July

The crime he committed (most likely) in addition to conspiracy would be a violation of the export control regulations or the ITAR, so it doesn't matter whether or not you can buy these sights on eBay or wherever,if it's designated as a controlled good then you need a lot of paperwork to export it. And yes, he should know better as a Captain and especially one working in the intelligence field. As for him getting off lightly- fat chnace of that if this is an ITAR violation. The Feds love to prosecute and publicize those cases, so the opposite is most likley true.
Badsey at 10:27 AM JST - 23rd July

then they better arrest everyone on Ebay selling any piece of electronics to any nation of less than favourable status. And when did selling gun parts become illegal = he's not selling a receiver (the legal definition of a gun). I could be selling a screw that could be considered a gun part.

Truth of the matter: The Nintendo Wii or any iPod has more tech than the junk this guy is selling. =and these items cross borders everyday. I want people arrested/interned and the Internet(s) shut down. These internets and their illegal trading are causing all sorts of problems for governments.
UnagiDon at 10:34 AM JST - 23rd July

It's not a matter of how much "technology" is in something, it's a matter of whether or not someone in the State Department or DoD has decided that technology is S"trategic" and needs export permits or State approval to export. Price doesn't matter, and if a product has even one part that is one the US Munitions List, it's a controlled good. Don't like it? Get in line behind all the big US defence contractors who hate, or ITT who was hit with a $100 million fine.
Badsey at 10:43 AM JST - 23rd July

the gun part was an upper receiver for an Airsoft. These "guns" shoot plastic or foam pellets and are popular with kids in the US or adults in Japan. $20-40+ typically.

Is the airsoft a gun? I believe Federally it does not qualify as a gun. Surprisingly in some liberal states it does qualify as a gun.
Badsey at 06:32 PM JST - 23rd July

I believe this guy was outfitting Airsoft M4/M16 clones for the Japanese adult. Since this is not a gun the BATF (alcohol-tobacco-firearms) is not involved.

They are going after this guy for political reasons. He wrote a few books and is popular with Japanese Mil types.

-so I need to contact my Gov for every import purchase and make sure nothing is on their exempt list. Maybe Bubble Bobble (Nes) is on that list? I better call up the DoD and have them check on a
UnagiDon at 07:04 PM JST - 23rd July

Badsey;

An EoTech 553 is a holographic sight and is designed for real guns, it is not part of an airsoft gun though people may want to use it as such, so that's probably what got him in trouble -regardless of anything else he may have exported. And yes, you do have to get your gov't's permission to export certain things - import all you want!
Molenir at 03:59 AM JST - 24th July

They are going after this guy for political reasons. He wrote a few books and is popular with Japanese Mil types.

Such paranoia. Anyone who exports something like this without a permit would get in trouble. Politics have nothing to do with it. The fact that he is in the Military and was Japanese is whats making this news though.