Japan Illegal Knife
Nice collaboration between the police and the folks doing marketing for X-Men Origins:Wolverine.
A notice board at a police station in Sapporo - included is a Wolverine film poster notice saying "Even this man cant be forgiven! Its forbidden to carry dagger knifes."
In Japan its against the law to carry a blade thats over 5.5cm in length and one could be imprisoned for less than 3 years or be fined 500,000 yen (5000 USD).
What are the laws like in your neck of the woods?
Wolverine out in Japan on Sep 11th. Heard many folks obtained a pre-release copy which still had the action wires in it. How was the film and was it as tasty as the previous X-Men movies?
Japanese trailer for Wolverine below.
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Otaku Graphic Designer
http://neoprolacus.spaces.live.com
Altho there are plot holes here and there, the movie was awesome~! Gonna get meself a Bluray copy for collection purpose when it's out!
~Undine~
http://bluebluewave.wordpress.com
Yeah, there's a few plot-holes in it and they changed some things which don't make it mesh well with the X-Men movies that came out before (but take place after this one in the timeline) but it was a nice action movie overall.
In the end they fully portrayed Wolverine as a good guy, he never was a real 'animal' as they let him out to be in the other films.
Time Traveller/High School Student
http://thetsundere.wordpress.com
Never seen any collaborations like that here in Australia - a interesting idea though.
As for Wolverine, haven't seen it yet... I was never a huge fan of the previous movies, but it still looks pretty good! ^^.
Ambassador
http://througheyesfromafar.blogspot.com/
I still prefer the cartoon/comics to the movies.
Chinese/Viet restaurant waiter, no post secondary
I was given a copy of the pre-release as well, the wires were hilarious, I only watched the first 15 minutes though cause I wanted to watch it in its proper film.
Geek Liaison
http://www.thegeekreview.com
Wolverine had great action but a mediocre plot.
student
I wouldn't want to be a butcher or a fish vendor on a weekly market with such a law in place.
三年せいとオタク
I got a copy of the pre release to and it was funny I liked how it still had the wires and some of the cg needed a lot of work. XD
Tech Support Officer - Network Security Engineer
http://burugureibi.blogspot.com/
so is it advertising the movie or the law?
Dance Trooper: DCX-001 O.D.E. (Order of the Dancing Empire)
http://dannychoo.com.my
LOL! I bet other people will get confuse too~~~
Developer/Student
http://threedeecomplex.wordpress.com/
Wolverine is better than the travesty that was X-Men 3: The Last Stand, but thats not saying much. I would say the videogame gives a better experience of the storyline, and thats saying something, as most movie game tie-ins are terrible.
As for knives, I dunno what the law is, but I carry a fairly lengthy blade with me that has a few other tools attached to it (not quite a Swiss army knife though, but the knife is much longer). I'm sure if I got in trouble with the law tho, it might be construed as a concealed weapon.
Student
Wolverine is a good movie and well worth the watch for anyone. As for knives... it seems that people get away with to much within the UK.. many people these days are carrying a knife, mostly the teenage yobs who thnk its cool to do so, but when there caught they seem to get off with a slap on the wrist.
銀河帝国五〇一軍团 TK/TD 8316 M.E.P.D. 軍曹/Droid Hunter
http://gordonator.com/
so Wolvernine movie is known as X-Men Zero in Japan? ('~')
IT Manager
http://thumbnail-of-life.blogspot.com/
Yup. It's called X-Men Zero.
Pseudo-Graphic Designer, 触手 wrangler, H-Man
http://lightningsabre.blogspot.com/
That's kinda like how Street Fighter Zero is called Street Fighter Alpha in North America.
studying comp studies
http://bruneian-otaku.blogspot.com
haven't seen Wolverine yet..
Space Pirate
Around here I believe its illegal to carry a knife of any size.
Of course you wont get busted for having a leatherman in your pocket.
As for the movie, I thought it was better than what critics tells you, though I liked the previous X-Men movies better.
student
http://zephi-san.deviantart.com/
Wolverine is a must see movie. Enjoyed it a lot more than the 3rd X-Men movie.
Not too sure about the laws about knives here, but it depends on the location and situation.. Work which requires carrying a knife is okay, but if someone was caught in possession of a knife without a legitimate reason... then a fine would be issued, or worse, jail.
animetard and a writer
http://kluxorious.blogspot.com/
Never heard people got arrested for carrying a knife unless if he's committing a crime.
and the movie sucks.
Online Shop
http://wildarms.egloos.com
My Japanese friend came to US last May and it was same week when Wolverine came out so I showed it to him. It is hard to believe it is coming out just now in Japan, talk about lateness :P I fairly enjoyed it but I always thought something was lacking from X-Men franchise for me and Wolverine was no exception. Can't really explain what is missing, I just never feel satisfied watching X-Men movies(like I did from watching Iron Man and Dark Knight). Would it shock people if I dare say I enjoyed G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra more ^^;?
Well, we allow people to carry guns so knife isn't so bad maybe... I can't bring myself to carry one though :P
???Confused???
Over here, fire arms are more of an issue than knifes...
フリー漫画家/Comic Artist
http://mangayomo.com/blog/
北海道の警察もイキなことしますねｗｗｗ
５．５ｃｍ以上の剣は駄目で、包丁はいいのかな？ｗｗｗ
Full-time geek/Part-time student/Part-time musician
http://randomgeekness.livejournal.com/
LOL!!!
Young Grasshopper
http://miragestrike.blogspot.com
"In Japan its against the law to carry a blade thats over 5.5cm in length."
Even butcher knives? Or is it implied that you can't carry them in public?
Mad scientist
Such laws usually apply to being in public only. Professional butchers, chefs and other people like that would have a serious problem if it were everywhere. The law is meant to reduce crime, not reduce food production ^^
Young Grasshopper
http://miragestrike.blogspot.com
I see.. It'd be quite a view to watch a butcher do his job with a mini blade lol. ^^'
Freelance Artist
http://edcomics.deviantart.com
That's really funny. Nice work on the poster, guys. I've seen a copy of the "pre-release" and enjoyed it. It helped me get through a painfully long car ride. I didn't like some of the casting, and the plot was definitely questionable, but the film was enjoyable overall. The thing is, that applies to the earlier films as well. The casting is wonky, and the plots are.... well, wonky. I would say Wolverine is at least as good as X-Men 3. Then comes X-men 1, and X-men 2 as the worst (in my humble opinion).
Akiba Researcher
http://www.stevenagata.com
Darker side to this story, at least for tourists planning to visit Japan.
Japanese police detained a 74 year old American man for 10 days for carrying a pocketknife after he stopped by a police office to ask for directions. He was visiting his son and was not allowed to speak to his son for nearly a week after he was taken in to the police station.
It seems that the Japanese have started to ask foreigners "do you have a knife?" to try and troll for offenders.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20090826a4.html
I used to tell visitor to just find a police officer or police box if they get lost, but this has me rethinking that advice.
Lesson #1 learned. Do not carry even a pocketknife in Japan
Lesson #2 learned. Japanese police are not helpful
For the record, his knife was 8.6cm long or 3.3 inches, however the actual cutting edge was less than 5cm or 2 inches.
Mad scientist
Do note that the source to this article is the son and the defending lawyer of the offender. It's my impression that defending lawyers says all sorts of stuff to the media when they lost a case. According to them being in possession of a murder weapon with your fingerprint isn't the same as you should go to jail for the crime. There is always an unlogical reason why you didn't do it and/or jail will be too hard on you.
That being said If the information provided in the article is correct then it sounds like the police overreacted. Still I wonder why he had the knife and why his son didn't inform him that it were illegal.
Here I know that if the police finds an illegal knife on somebody/in somebody's car or similar location then they talk to the person in question. If it turns out that it's for work then they look at how reasonable that statement is. If it's near the place of work and he claims it to be used for work, then it's ok. If he claims it to be used for work and he is in queue to go do a disco then they don't trust him. We will never know what happened when the 74 year old got arrested because right now the case is in a state where I will not trust either side blindly if they go public about what happened when he asked for directions (which is a good place to start. Is this really how it all started?).
Messaging specialist
http://saturdaymorningrobots.lithiumstate.nl/
That's pretty insane, the actual cutting edge should cound not the total length of the entire knife including it's heft etc. (as even butterfly knives with an allowed cutting edge can easily be a little over double the length with the heft)
I've always tought of Japan as being both highly advanced on a number of fields, but so incredibly backwards in some things in how their society works.
College Freshmen
Isn't that law from a really, really long time ago? I honestly don't know if we have a law regarding blades, but I'm pretty sure there's some rule about caring blades in a University campus.
Medical School Student
lol, wolverine would surely got caught in Japan because his blades are longer than 5.5cm (笑)
Student
Haven't seen of the X-Men movies except from the childhood cartoons, about weapons I wouldn't know.
The knife laws over here are pretty lenient. The only things that are illegal are gravity (butterfly) knives and belt knives. I carry one with me all day to work. Although when on campus, every type of blade is illegal.
http://darkdam.deviantart.com/
hurt it was horrible so I didn't bother watching it, although the trailers do seem pretty good but its no longer showing in america....
ばり★すた
Haha, "Wolverine" doesn't look it rolls off the tongue too easily in Japanase. Uruvarin - doesn't sound nearly as intimidating, huh?
I never really thought about the specifics of laws like that up here in Canada. I figure one probably shouldn't be carrying a blade in the first place if one wants to stay on the nice side of the law.
Lazy Gamer at home
http://www.espadakiller.wordpress.com
Why is it called X-men Zero? lol
Dedicated and certified lunatic, Beer snob extraordinaire...
Obviously, I couldn't carry my personal "protection" knife in Japan...*Cold Steel brand, 5 INCH blade, half serrated, foldable with a pocket clip* But, I also have a permit to carry a concealed weapon. ( only for Arizona, though, I'd have to leave it *my firearm* if, for example, I went to California)
University Student/Anime Society President
http://www.imagesofeden.co.uk
Over here knives carried without an explicit reason have to be less than 3" in length & of the folding variety where the blade folds into the handle. You're not allowed to carry a knife that doesn't fold, or even one that locks into the open position. Also can't be a switchblade, flick knife, gravity knife, butterfly knife etc (any sort of automatic opening mechanism is illegal).
Of course if you have a reason, you can carry a longer knife &/or a fixed blade, such as if you're going camping or work as a chef.
~Undine~
http://bluebluewave.wordpress.com
Saw it in May when it came out here, not the best but I still enjoyed it quite a bit. ^^
Network Technician
http://www.myyaruki.com
Yeah thought it was a good watch would probably watch again.
Mad scientist
I like the drawing of the illegal biking. We really need something like that here. Bikes rides everywhere, passes red lights an stuff like that and because cars brakes/stops to avoid hitting the bikes the cars ends up in long queues. They are also involved in a whole lot of accident and the car driver is usually blamed unless somebody else can witness that the bike passed a red light or something. This is one reason why I don't like driving in the city.
Knives here are banned if they are over a certain length or if the blade can be locked. By locked it means it's a pocket knife and there is a lock which keeps the blade in place once it's out. The intention of the law is to get rid of knives in the nightlife so the police will not actually find a store with a sale on bread knives and then wait outside and arrest everybody buying a knife in there. They do mean business if they find a knife and the owner fails to provide a reasonable explanation to why he/she has a knife.
NEET
http://austrianotaku.com/
Yah, there is a law about the max. lenght here... but can't remember.
Btw: Does a Katana count as knife? If so I sense a problem ^^;
university film student | ecchikid | the Archivist
http://www.vimeo.com/longhim
So the noble Samurai, having been reduced to a television talent show, gets the final nail in the coffin. ^^:
Butterfly knives are illegal in Canada. Dumbest thing ever.
NEET
Statues vary by state, in the States, and can change from time to time.
Last time I checked, in Georgia, it's illegal to carry big knives concealed. This would imply having a visible sheath on your person rather than knife in hand, or you'll really stick out. =D
I keep my knife at home.
Mad scientist
The first thing that came to my mind was http://www.dumblaws.com/laws/united-states/washington ... particular the first one for Seattle
Now that's a big knife ^^
For the record: dumblaws.com claims that they haven't verified everything listed there as valid laws. It could be faked, but knowing how politicians makes laws it very well could be true.
To Aru Tenki Rain
http://kyourin7.blogspot.com/
hmm, but I heard people carrying it here for self defense?
Mad scientist
That argument would give guns to everybody. Isn't the purpose of an anti-weapon law to ban the weapons from everybody making the need for defence with such weapons unneeded? If the lawful citizens needs to carry weapons to defend themselves then the police and legal system fails.
http://ederu.wordpress.com
Very true!
If citizens are allowed to hold weapons to "defend" themselves there will always be bad apples out there who would take advantage of this freedom.
But what if someone buys a blade >5.5cm from a store..?
Mad scientist
Keep it in the original packing, which prevents you from reaching it quickly. Keep the bill too and go strait home with it. Taking it to bars and stuff on the way home would be a bad idea. You have a point that transporting a knife from the store to a home or from a home to a home is an issue but I honestly don't think it will be a problem with a bit of common sense.
Engineer-wannabe
http://ameblo.jp/alchemist00/
just watched that movie on the plane,on my way home from japan (having a summer vacation now ^0^ )
was a great movie i think :D
Your resident evil
Wolverine = Thumbs down. Major disappointment. Waste of time.
Student
http://www.asuka-suminoe.com/
Was tasty indeed :3, It was a long time ago, but it was good. I heard that most Marvel fans didnt like it
Blogger
http://www.yonasu.com
I think a 5.4 cm blade is just as dangerous as a 5.5 cm blade, but maybe I'm wrong?^^
Mad scientist
The difference between 5,4 cm and 5,5 cm is nothing (well it's 1 mm :P). The point is that somewhere the line has to be drawn. Our legal system is intended to be like programming: you set up specific rules without gray areas. If the law didn't specify such a strict limit then the result could be that one guy with a 5,5 cm knife gets jailed and another one with a 5,6 cm knife goes free. It's said that it's against the human's rights to make a law where the citizens can't figure out on their own if what they are doing is legal or not.
Speaking of human's rights, I think I will read them eventually. People claim they give people all sorts of rights and I'm somewhat sure that some people claim more human's rights than the convention provides. It would be interesting to know what it actually says.
Student, Uncle & hopfully a good husband..
Weird cooperation indeed...
University Student
Depends where you are in the US.
Student/Evil Overlord
I always carry a Leatherman around. I have no particular use for it, just that I feel comfortable having a multi-tool whenever a need arises. The blade is 6.4cm though....
Student
being from lousisana we can carry just about anything we want on our person...except in school zones duh!!...Wolverine welll ehhh.. it coulda been better
http://www.fifthdreamtoday.com
The movie was *horrible*. Seriously. Watch a friend's copy on DVD or something, but don't pay to see it.
student
http://listlessink.wordpress.com/
Agreed. It's not even worth renting. Just DL it.
wow I always bring victorinox eveywhere !!! and one of the blade is around 7 Cm >_<
still trying to figure it out...
http://pipopaz.wordpress.com/
x-men zero was an ok movie, though i wouldn't watch it again...As for the law, I really don't know if is illegal to carry a knife over here...
Japanese Intensive Language Student
http://chrisatwaseda.wordpress.com
The Wolverine movie wasn't as good as the other movies. The knife laws however, are kind of stupid. So you can get arrested if you buy a kitchen knife and are on your way home from the store?
About that......
where i live, weapons of any kind are against the o will go against the law, but there are people who flaunt the law and carry machetes and kitchen knives. a few years ago, the police have asked people to hand in their weapons in return for passes for events and footy games. ive handed mine in a while ago, but would have it for home defense ( and i have contended with would be robbers who broke into my house). now all i have for my home defense is my bokken sword.
Jedi 626
In California, the basic knife laws are that you can't have any sort of automatically opening, or gravity-assisted, blade (switchblade, butterfly knife). Folding blades of any size are fine as long as the blade folds into the handle and stays closed unless you unfold it manually. Folded blades can be carried in a pocket (concealed). Fixed blades must be visible and worn at the belt, not hidden. There are restrictions on carrying blades in schools, although foldable blades are allowed on university and college campuses.
That's state law: some cities have further restrictions on the size of blades, so what may be legal in one city may not be in another.
Programmer
Are those missing person posters to the left? (?_?)
Mechanical Engineering student
http://sabekujikaneda.multiply.com/
I dunno about laws concerning knifes here but firearms are definitely legal PROVIDED that you have the legal documents for it :D
C.E. Student
Very interesting. I did not know about the law.