Japanese national accused of smuggling hundreds of gun parts held without bail

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A Japanese man is accused of smuggling gun parts through Hawaii.

A federal magistrate judge on Tuesday ordered Shota Yamamoto, 29, detained.

According to court records, Yamamoto claimed he was using the items for his airsoft store in Tokyo, but agents with Homeland Security Investigations said the items recovered at Honolulu’s airport and at his residence in Japan had not been converted for airsoft sports.

Yamamoto was arrested last week.

His alleged co-conspirator, Changmin Lee, is still in Japan and has not been arrested.

Court records said Lee ordered the gun parts and tactical gear from a supply store in Orlando, Florida. The items were shipped to Honolulu.

On Dec. 27, 2024, the criminal complaint said both men attempted to board a flight from Honolulu to Tokyo with more than 700 undeclared firearm components and tactical gear in their luggage.

The items were seized, and the two were allowed to proceed to Japan while HSI agents worked to determine if they had the proper licenses.

Both are charged with conspiracy to export goods without the required Department of Commerce licenses.

Retired federal public defender Alexander Silvert said he has never had a case like this in his decades of working in the federal system.

He said the law is to “control items that could be used for military purposes in foreign countries.”

Among the items seized: AR-15 upper receivers, AR-15 lower receiver parts kits, M16 control group parts, ballistic helmets and body armor.

Both men said they had taken gun components to Japan several times before without being stopped.

Yamamoto was arrested when he returned to Honolulu last week.

“They got caught, basically red-handed, with these parts in their possession,” said Megan Kau, a defense attorney and former deputy city prosecutor.

Kau has also never represented a client charged with this crime.

Both are also charged for allegedly falsifying visa documents. They were in Honolulu on tourist visas, but were doing business.

Yamamoto was ordered detained because he was deemed a flight risk.

“Because he’s a foreign national who can travel to Japan and then from Japan to any other country, that makes him the flight risk,” said Silvert.

It’s not clear if Lee will be brought back to Hawaii to face the charges.