TOKYO, March 31 (UPI) -- A National Police Agency survey in Japan has found that despite a revised control law, 700,000 "airsoft," or simulated, guns remain in the country.
The NPA survey found that of the 800,000 remodeled airsoft guns that fall under last August's revised Firearms and Swords Control Law, only 100,000 of the military simulation weapons have been appropriately modified or discarded, The Yomiuri Shimbun said.
The revised law makes ownership of the guns, which fire plastic pellets for the game of simulated war game of airsoft, illegal if the weapons are modified to increase their firepower to a certain degree.
The revision was brought about in 2006 after the simulation weapons were used to vandalize cars in the Osaka and Wakayama prefectures in September 2005.
One NPA official warned the transitional period provided to make airsoft guns legal ended in February and that the owners of the remaining 700,000 weapons could face legal action if caught.
"The transition period is over, so if we find someone who owns such an (illegal) airsoft gun, the person will have to be penalized," the official told the paper.
