Hokkaido returns rifle to hunter after court set aside revocation of his license

SUNAGAWA, HOKKAIDO –

The Hokkaido Prefectural Government on Thursday apologized and returned a hunting rifle to a 77-year-old hunter following a Supreme Court ruling that found the revocation of his hunting gun license illegal.

Haruo Ikegami, head of the Sunagawa branch of the Hokkaido hunting society, shot a brown bear in 2018 at the request of the Sunagawa city government. The Hokkaido Prefectural Public Safety Commission revoked his license in 2019 on the grounds that his shots could have damaged nearby structures.

On March 27 this year, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Ikegami and found that the decision by the public safety commission to revoke the license was an abuse of discretionary power.

“We apologize for the inconvenience and burden you’ve experienced,” a prefectural police official said Thursday when visiting Ikegami on behalf of the public safety commission.

Ikegami responded, “It’s natural to apologize. It’s just back to where it was.”