Good thing those machines are really hard to win at.

You can win all kinds of things from crane games in Japan, from slices of cake to not-so-precious gemstones. So, it’s perhaps only mildly surprising that the National Police Agency issued a warning that illegal firearms were also up for grabs by mechanical claws in game centers across Japan.

According to the NPA, some 16,000 Real Gimmick Mini Revolvers were imported to Japan from China and used as prizes in crane games. The brightly colored pistols came with a set of eight plastic bullets that can be used to ping cans or annoy siblings, with a recommended age of 12 and up. However, the specs of the gun itself are such that it could also potentially be used to fire live ammunition as well.

▼ I guess it’s right there in the name. The gimmick is that they’re real.

This is a surprisingly common problem, and the NPA has also released a list of 16 other Chinese-manufactured guns that could potentially fire real bullets due to the use of a hard enough plastic or metal hammer in the correct position and a large enough barrel.

Anyone with these toys should be aware they are in possession of an illegal firearm and turn them over to the police as soon as possible. And of course, no one should ever attempt to shoot live rounds from any of them for many reasons, but a big one is that they are just toys and run an extremely high risk of blowing up in the shooter’s hand before ever letting off a shot that would go nowhere near its intended target.

The Real Gimmick Mini was found by the Hyogo Prefectural Police to have been one such gun, when they discovered one while investigating a home on a separate matter. The gun was confirmed to be dangerous by forensic testing afterward, and subsequent efforts have so far recovered 450 of the toys.

Comments online were surprised that a potentially lethal weapon could not only get into the country but into the nation’s crane games as well. Some also felt the importers should be punished or more closely regulated to stop this from happening again.

“Shouldn’t they be catching this stuff when it’s imported?”
“It’s not even a good toy. I’d be mad if I was given it as a prize.”
“Is this a way for people to smuggle guns? That’s scary.”
“Yakuza and half grey members are probably all flocking to game centers now.”
“It’s not exactly the most discreet weapon either.”
“Good luck getting bullets anyway.”
“They’re even more dangerous because they can’t shoot straight.”
“Make the importers track them all down and then arrest them.”

No charges have been announced against the importers, and it seems very likely they were completely unaware that these toy guns could possibly be used as real guns. Even the producers were probably oblivious to the toy guns’ potential, as game center prizes manufactured in China aren’t exactly known to be the pinnacle of craftsmanship.

At least it’s good to know the threat these thousands of potential guns pose is rather low because ammunition is incredibly hard to come by in Japan. However, if crane games suddenly start offering plastic Real Gimmick Exploding Bullet toys, then we’d be in trouble.

Source: National Police Agency 1, 2, Yomiuri Shimbun, My Game News Flash
Featured image: National Police Agency
Insert image: National Police Agency 1, 2
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