This Is How Strict One Country Is With Gun Control

Japan has some of the toughest gun-control laws on the planet – perhaps the strictest ever – and that need for tight control over anything firearm-related even affects their military.

Harold Hutchison · Jul 28, 2026 · 2 min read

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Japan has some of the toughest gun-control laws on the planet – perhaps the strictest ever – and that need for tight control over anything firearm-related even affects their military.

Under Japan’s Firearms and Swords Control Law of 1958, the possession of firearms and swords is prohibited in principle, and civilians can only obtain shotguns or air rifles for hunting or sport shooting after a rigorous process, according to Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But their military also has strict measures involving firearms.

One video posted on X in April showed Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces troops at a range, but there was a twist – there would be another one holding a huge butterfly net for the purposes of catching the brass. It’s actually a long-running practice, with one reply to the post showing Imperial Japanese Army troops doing something similar with machine guns in the World War II era.

Apparently, if every round is not accounted for, then the troops don’t go anywhere until the lost sheep – I mean casing – is located and recovered. Can’t say this is particularly surprising, given what we saw Japanese soccer fans do during the World Cup, and it certainly is an extreme opposite to the range slobs whose aftermath is all too familiar to American gun owners.

Veterans who served alongside Japanese personnel and who took part in exercises responded to the post, confirming the practice.

“When we were doing a range with the Japanese soldiers, out of habit, they would pick up their brass while doing shooting drills,” Jake, a former Marine infantryman posted. “This is dumb. Train as you fight.”

“My unit went over and trained with the JGSDF 1st Airborne Brigade years ago,” a user going by K CSG chimed in. “Stepped out on the range and witnessed this [firsthand], as well as a giant mesh that was rolled out over the ground [in] case the butterfly net missed any.”

Japan is not the only country doing this, according to some other posts.

“Singapore does this too,” a user with the handle PanzerPaw said. “The idea is to ensure no live ammo goes missing, not even a single round. E.g. if you are issued 30 rounds, you return 30 rounds (fired or intact).”

Given that in Japan, firearms must be registered and stored locked and unloaded separately from ammunition, a measure enforced with annual visits from the police, we really shouldn’t be surprised about this approach to collecting spent brass.

It certainly doesn’t seem practical in a firefight, though.

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