Britain to ban samurai swords!

Somebody in the British government has too much time on their hands. From the Telegraph:

The sale of imitation samurai swords could be banned by the end of the year, the Home Office announced today.

Importing or hiring the weapons could also be made illegal following a string of samurai sword attacks in recent years.

Breaching the ban, which is targeted at cheap imitation samurai swords rather than the more expensive genuine collectors’ items made by licensed swordsmiths in Japan, would result in up to six months in jail and a £5,000 fine.

Media-Newswire.com has included a quote from Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker:

“Public safety is our greatest priority. Samurai sword crime is low in volume but high in profile and I recognise it can have a devastating impact. Banning the sale, import and hire will take more dangerous weapons out of circulation, making our streets safer.

“We recognise it is the cheap, easily available samurai swords which are being used in crime and not the genuine, more expensive samurai swords which are of interest to collectors and martial art enthusiasts. As such as we are putting forward exemptions for these groups.

“Knife crime and sharp instrument homicides have remained stable, while violent crime has fallen by over a third in the last nine years. It is already illegal to have a samurai sword in a public place but I want to restrict the number of dangerous weapons in circulation to enhance community safety.”

Looks like Mr. Coaker is playing up to the sensationalist media and its obsession with a few isolated instances of crazy people using samurai swords in crimes as a means of building some public support. As he has said, it is already illegal to brandish one’s katana in public, so this new rule would do nothing other than damage the business of replica sword shops and make sword-loving otaku cry. Don’t be a jerk, Mr. Coaker.

[Photo credit: URAnimeClub]