A National Police Agency security inspection report on the fatal shooting of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe emphasizes that there was a lack of awareness that even individuals with no ties to terrorist organizations can easily obtain information about how to make firearms and explosives on the internet.
The NPA is considering enhancing firearms countermeasures and online information-gathering activities as part of its responses to lone-wolf crimes like the July shooting attack.
The suspect in that attack, Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, currently confined for psychiatric evaluation, allegedly made an online purchase of agricultural fertilizer that can be turned into a raw material for making gunpowder sometime after spring last year. He reportedly learned how to make firearms from YouTube videos and crafted multiple homemade guns.
