The first phase of 30,000 C25 rifles will begin arrival from early 2027 to 2029, with deployed forces being the first ones to receive them. Afterwards, the project will move into phase 2 with 16,195 C26 rifles deployed for infantry and additional 19,207 C25s deployed.
On September 26, 2026 around 4 a.m. Gifu Prectural Police responded to an apartment building due to a domestic call. Upon arrival, the suspect, a 25 year old husband immediately barricaded himself and his two daughters, which are 4 and 1 year old who were asleep in their apartment balcony. Due to concerns that the suspect will jump off the building, the Kakamigahara Fire Department was called in to assist and set up a safety air cushion to catch them. After several hours of negotiating to no avail, GPP decided to breach the apartment and arrest him. As they were entering the apartment, the suspect threw his daughters off the balcony, fortunately the cushion caught them both and they landed unharmed. The suspect is now charged with attempted murder, a drug test indicated that he was not high at the time and is now remaining silent in interrogation.
Up till very recently, the service pistol of the Canadian Armed Forces was the WW2 era Inglis Fi-Power, until it was replaced by the C22 pistol (P320) Therefore, prior to the replacement, any units in the CAF that needs to be serious with pistol shooting gets the more modern Sig P226. Units include CANSOFCOM special forces like the JTF2 and CSOR, the HUMINT unit JTFX of CFINTCOM and the Royal Canadian Navy Advanced Naval Capabilities Unit, responsible for multiple duties including maritime interdiction and force protection.
A recruiting video of CSOR published last year showed them using the Glock 45, which can reasonably indicate that CANSOFCOM units are using Glock 45 either supplanted or supplement the P320s. However, it is unknown if the Glock 45 contract is for SOF only or P226 replacement. It is also likely that they will get the C22 or the C24 which is the black carry version of the P320 which is issued to the Military Police to replace their P225 pistols.
On May 31, 2014, 11:24 p.m., a man was shot three times at the back and killed on the 21st floor of a public housing building. Detectives checked the buildings CCTV footage overnight and was able to lock down the identity of the shooter, who was also a resident of the building. CCTV did not record the shooter leaving the building, which lead to investigators to conclude that the shooter was still in the building.
At the time, the building was newly built and not all residents have moved in yet, so Police Tactical Unit officers were dispatched to sweep the empty apartments and the Surveillance Team (nicknamed "Paparazzi") was able to track him down to his unit on the 10th floor. Residents of the 9th, 10th and 11th floors were each phone-called to shelter in place while the Surveillance Support Unit, (nicknamed the "Hit Team", its tasks are similar to the LAPD SIS) arrived at 9 a.m. and positioned outside the unit. At 11:05 a.m., the shooter suddenly opened the door and fired two shots at the officers, a Hit Team officer returned one shot, with all three rounds missing its targets. (Another version of events that this exchange of shots was from a chance encounter when detectives arrived at the 10th floor to check the apartments)
Due to the escalation, Special Duties Unit officers that were staging at the nearby Auxiliary Police Headquarters were called in to bring an end to the siege. The plan was to breach the apartment from the front door while two officers were staged at the outer walls of the 11th floor, on top of where the shooter was to act as the cut-off group. At 11:45 a.m., the breach team cut the apartment security gate open with hydraulic cutters and broke the door open with a door ram, following it a 9-banger and a tear gas grenade were thrown into the house. The breach team rushed into the apartment and found that the shooter had shot himself.
The suspect was brought to a hospital and was pronounced dead at 12:51 p.m. In the apartment, one Type 54 pistol, one homemade pistol, two knives and 8 rounds of ammo were seized. The suspect was revealed to be the father of a somewhat famous actress, but his motives of the murder is still unknown.
Chen Xin Fa is one of the most notorious and heinous criminals ever to have walked the streets of Taiwan. Over the years, he had committed 54 cases of kidnapping politicians, millionaires, gang bosses, casino robberies, murdering civilians over minor disputes and shot and killed 2 detectives. These heinous crimes earned him the nickname "The Dragon of Yilan County". The National Police Agency launched "Project Dragon Hunt" to track him down, ranked him as the No.2 on the "Ten Most Wanted Major Armed Criminals" and both the Director-General of NPA and gang bosses across Taiwan issued shoot-to-kill orders against him.
In 1992, was able to track Chen was tracked down to a building in Taipei, hundreds of officers from the NPA Criminal Investigation Bureau and the local precinct were deployed to hunt him down, but Chen was able to escape before they got to him. When searching the building, one of the neighbours told the cops that one of the apartments on the second floor (Chen resides on the third floor) seems to be housing a gang boss. As a result, the police arrived at the door and began ringing the doorbell. However, the resident was at a business trip in Hong Kong at the time and his wife was filming advertisements overnight as well and was unable to answer the door. Believing that Chen was trying to hide, the officers then took cover behind ballistic shields and fired every gun they have at the door. However, the door was made of steel and none of the rounds got through. They then used an exothermic torch to burn the door lock but it also didn't work. As a result, SWAT was called in and they rappelled into the apartment via the windows and found no one was there. They quickly withdrew afterwards. When the wife returned home, she discovered her home destroyed. She went to the local police station to report the destruction of their apartment, only to be told by the on-duty officer that they were the ones who did it, and housed her in a local motel. When the husband flew back to Taipei, he went to the station to demand compensation, but the station chief said it's not them that did it and put him in a police car to the local precinct. The precinct chief apologized but insisted that it was the CIB's fault and that they were following orders. The husband was once again put in a police car and taken to CIB. Fortunately, the CIB was willing to compensate for all the damages they suffered. The next day, the couple moved back into the home despite the door being damaged because no one would dare to enter the apartment after seeing the bullet holes. According to the husband, the damaged door was taken back by the manufacturer as a demonstration piece to show that their door was so strong that even police can't get through it and that it became a must-have for people living in mansions.
Several days after the unfortunate episode, the police were able to locate him once again in another apartment building. Two hundred officers from the NPA CIB, Taipei City Police Department and Yilan County Police Bureau pulled up to take him down. As the police prepared to breach, Chen and two of his crew resisted with T65 rifles, Mini-Uzi smgs and M26 grenades. During the shootout, the gas lines of the building were shot and severed. The gas was detonated when seven stun grenades was thrown in there, burning down the building along with all three criminals. (Pic 3 shows the shootout aftermath of the apartment) This shootout marks the record of the number of rounds fired in a police shootout with over 2000 rounds were fired during the shootout, exhausting the entire ammo stockpile of the local precinct.
As the bodies were unidentifiable, there were rumours that Chen had escaped during the chaos, causing panic amongst the public. In the end, the police identified Chen by blood-typing, finally putting an end to the manhunt.
In the April of 2026, an IPP police officer who was on a SAR mission for a missing hiker was ambushed by a bear and was injured. One month later, the IPP rolled out this bear protection kit. Designed to be compatible with the existing stab vest and a riot shield if necessary, the kit is designed to protect the head, face and arms of the officer. Police stations located in the mountains would be the first receivers of this kit. This kit will be used when officers respond to bear attack calls and SAR missions.
The neighbouring Akita Prefectural Police has issued bear protection equipment since 2024, I have posted a video of its demonstration in this link:
The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) is the agency that is responsible for anti-corruption investigations in Hong Kong. While corruption is mostly a white-collar crime, sometimes they may have to deal with dangerous criminals such as gangsters and corrupt law enforcement officers, as a result, the ICAC always maintained a firearms unit. It is a part-time unit and would be called out if operations involved drugs, prostitution, gangs, witness protection, arresting violent suspects, serving high-risk warrants and prisoner escort.
The full kit consists of a MP5 (wiki lists it as MP5SFA3 but I seem to see A5 markings on this picture), Glock 19 Gen3/4, a level 3a vest. Pepper spray and ASP 16 inch stainless steel batons are also available.
In its 52 years of history, no ICAC officer has ever fired their weapons outside of training. As a result, ICAC firearms were nicknamed as "The Guns of Kindness", a term derived from the Stephen Chow movie "Fight Back to School".
From the 80s to 90s, Hong Kong was plagued by heavily armed Chinese gangs who would illegally enter Hong Kong with firearms and grenades believed to be sourced from leftover Vietnam war stocks or corrupt PLA units to rob gold jewellery stores and banks. In one of many operations, the RHKP SDU rolled up to an apartment complex to arrest a 5 man 1 woman robbery crew believed to have committed at least five robberies. When the SDU breached the apartment, the robbers fired their AK rifle and threw grenades in a bid to escape. They were temporarily able to escape the apartment by climbing out the window but were all captured in the building after a lengthy search.
In the end, three SDU officers and four detectives were injured. At the time, they were on perimeter duty at the bottom of the building, the robbers were able to drop a grenade from the apartment towards the ground floor and injured them. One of the injured SDU sergeant lost his right eye from the blast and was forced to retire.
Picture 2 shows the stash of weapons seized from this operation.
The JGSDF does not differentiate between machines guns for air and land use, as a result, the infantry, vehicle mounted and helicopter door guns all share from the same weapons pool, which are the Minimi and the M2(not M3) machine guns. The Type 74 Vehicle Mounted 7.62mm machine gun is only available for heavier vehicles like tanks and apcs.
In the fourth picture, the JGSDF personnel is firing a Type 01 MAT in lieu of a machine gun. A 84mm recoiless rifle (Carl Gustaf) or the 110mm LAM (Panzerfaust 3) may also be used.
The minigun on the UH-60 is only used by the 102nd Aviation Unit, the Japanese equivalent to the US Army's 160th SOAR.
JGSDF UH-60s also has a setup called "Hiryu" (Flying Dragon), they would mount the Minimi at the window and the M2 Browning at the door. They would often fly ahead, then fly in circles around the LZ to suppress the enemy then the transports will arrive and the troops would rappel down from the helicopters. Due to this doctrine, they would only mount the guns on one side of the aircraft.
The Type 62 GPMG is the first machine gun to be domestically designed and manufactured by Japan post-WW2. At the time, the Type 64 7.62mm rifle would soon be adopted so they decided to adopt a machine gun that fires the same round as the rifle and to assume the functions of both the LMG and HMG to simplify logistics.
Like the Type 64 rifle, its reputation is rather poor. Its primary weakness is that the barrel is actually thinner than the 64 in an effort to reduce weight, it also has too many parts and a over-complicated design which makes maintenance complicated. As a result, JGSDF personnel gave it multiple nicknames including "Type 62 single shot machine gun", "King of Baka Gun" and the "Squad self destruct weapon" etc. The machine gun was retired in 1993 and was replaced by the license-produced FN Minimi which is now being replaced by the direct-imported Minimi Mk3 since 2023. There is no GPMG in service with the JGSDF to this day.
The Type 74 is an improved variant of the Type 62. Since there is no considerations on reducing weight, it is able to boast a stronger barrel and thus remains service to this day on almost all JGSDF heavy combat vehicles and as the door gun of JMSDF helicopters. Regardless, OG personnel who had the opportunity to use US supplied weapons (M1919) would still prefer the US imports over their own domestic design.
In 2013, it was discovered that the manufacturer, Sumitomo Heavy Industries had been manipulating test data on the machine guns they were manufacturing. Besides the machine guns featured in this post, the Minimi and M2 Brownings were also victims of such manipulations. As a result, SMI announced in 2021 they would withdraw from the machine gun business.
On November 29, 2018, Detective Sergeant Shane Donovan (in Ontario, a detective sergeant is actually of the rank staff sergeant, the rank of a sergeant working as a detective is just "Detective") commander of the Niagara Regional Police Service Collision Reconstruction Unit was at a rural intersection near the City of Niagara Falls investigating a car crash 17 days ago, when he came into conflict with Constable Nathan Parker, a uniformed officer assigned to block an intersection. According to D.Sgt. Donovan, Cst. Parker left for a bathroom break without waiting for a replacement, when D.Sgt. Donovan confronted him about it, Cst. Parker was infuriated and after some "remarks", he stepped out of his cruiser and began pushing and punching D.Sgt. Donovan. He backed away and announced that Parker was under arrest for assault, Cst. Parker eventually drew his baton, and in response D.Sgt. Donovan drew his Glock 22 pistol to force him to back off, Cst. Parker in turn drew his pistol as well. D.Sgt. Donovan fired 10 rounds, the only time in his career, Cst. Parker was shot 8 times in the cheek, nose, shoulder, thigh, calf, hip, abdomen and foot but survived and recovered. Cst. Parker's version of events is similar except that he was empty-handed the whole time and D.Sgt. Donovan never told him he was under arrest.
The Ontario Special Investigations Unit, the civilian watchdog agency responsible for investigating OIS and the Provincial Police each launched an investigation. In 2019, D.Sgt. Donovan was charged by SIU with attempted murder, aggravated assault and assault with a weapon while Cst. Parker was charged by the OPP with assaulting a police officer, assault with intent to resist arrest and assault with a weapon. D.Sgt. Donovan's charges were dropped before trial due to no reasonable prospect of conviction. However, during Cst. Parker's trial, it was revealed that D.Sgt. Donovan was in possession of SIU investigation materials and was alleged to have seen enough of it to taint his testimony. As a result, Cst. Parker's prosecution was stayed. D.Sgt. Donovan was then charged by the Hamilton Police Service of perjury but was acquitted as the judge accepted his defence of PTSD affecting his memory of recalling the materials.
In 2022, Cst. Parker would face charges in relation to a road rage incident, with the charges withdrawn in exchange of a peace bond. It should be noted that Cst. Parker had faced multiple disciplinary proceedings on use of force throughout his career. His estranged brother, in an interview called Cst. Parker a "monster", and has suffered violence from him growing up. He was surprised by that Cst. Parker was not the shooter and that he should have been fired a long time ago.
Both officers are now retired from the NRPS. D.Sgt. Donovan has filed a lawsuit in 2020 against the NRPS and SIU for 2million and 2.5 million dollars alleging that they failed to discipline Parker properly despite his history and for launching a negligent investigation and false arrest which damaged his reputation and career. There is no updates on this lawsuit to this day. The driver in the car crash that was originally being investigated was founded not guilty as the Collision Reconstruction Unit was sent too late to the scene.
In February, 2025, officers from the Taichung City Police Department was on DUI checkpoint duty when they intercepted two scooters. The riders were both 17 and without licenses, as a result, one immediately sped up and ran while the other one, who was too slow, ran on foot. One of the officers chased after the one that fled on foot, but soon lost him. However, by chance he came across the other rider who fled on board the scooter. The officer, failing to recognize at the checkpoint then asked him for a ride, which he complied. The rider probably only realized what is up when the officer directed him to where his friend was caught by other officers, said "If there is nothing else, I am heading out." and left. Other officers were able to recognize him but was too late to stop him before he fled once again. Officers did not pursue as they have the identities of the riders locked in. The riders were charged with various offences including driving without license, using another vehicle's license plate, damaging engine serial number, refusing inspection at a DUI checkpoint, and removing a muffler. A ticket was mailed to their parents and each were fined around 200k NTD (6,245.78 USD)
On September 19, 2021, Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police officers (south of Seoul) were attempting to intercept a suspected DUI driver. The driver fled into a parking lot but was soon blocked in by a patrol car. The driver then reversed and fled, while the two officers attempted to break the window with their baton. The car drove around in circles until he went back to where he began and was stuck between a parked car and the patrol car. As the driver refused to comply with police orders, a blank warning shot was fired and live rounds fired at the rear tires. News report claimed that in the end, a total of 2 blanks and six live rounds were fired at the rear tires of the car. Officers then break the window and tasered the driver, finally arresting him. 16 cars in the parking lot and 2 patrol cars were damaged in the incident. The driver was charged with DUI, and would face penalties including revocation of driver's license, a maximum fine of 10 million KRW (7,059.12 USD) or 1 to 2 years of imprisonment.
This incident came a month after a mass-stabbing in a mall in Seoul. After the stabbing, the South Korean government urged officers to be more liberal with their use of force in the face of violent criminals, as they were often hampered by restrictive policies and laws before, which sometimes lead to officers doing nothing or leave to get help even as people are getting attacked in front of them.
Currently, the taser used by the Korean National Police is the Axon X26 taser. The Koreans wanted to an indigenous design to replace the X26 and address criticisms that officers are ineffective in responding to violent criminals. As a result, the R3 was developed and selected by the KNPA. The R3 taser functions like a break-action revolver, being able to hold 6 taser cartridges which gives the taser three shots. The wires will be cut when the trigger is released to allow for quick follow-up shots. A pilot project in 2023 saw 100 units introduced for testing but reports in 2024 indicated that the replacement program has stalled because the final delivery inspection has failed. The KNPA is now suing the manufacturer to recover the 2.94 billion KRW (around 2 million USD) advance payment and to this day the X26 is still stuck in service after over a decade of use.
P.S. Korean Air crew members are trained and authorized to use X26 tasers since 2002 to subdue unruly passengers. A BBC report in 2017 claimed that 5 passengers were tased by the air crew.
In the morning of May 14, 2026, four 16 year old juveniles, known only as A, B, C and D broke into a house in Kaminoka, Tochigi Prefecture, there they stole gold jewellery and used a crowbar and a knife to beat and stabbed the owner of the house a 69 year old woman over 20 times to her death. Her two sons, who heard their mother's screams returned home to intervene but were both beaten up and stabbed and their dog was killed as well. Seven minutes after the robbery began, a 110 call was placed to the Tochigi Prefectural Police. Around half an hour later, responding officers spotted A around 550 meters away from the house. A agreed to volunteer to an interrogation and his relation to this incident was soon confirmed. A who resides in Kanagawa Prefecture, around 100 km away across Tokyo, quickly snitched on the rest of the gang. Turns out, he and D failed to escape with B and C in their vehicle, while D escaped via train, he simply left on foot and was caught. Soon, B, C and D were all arrested. When interrogated, the juveniles revealed the existence of their superiors, a husband and wife duo who are 28 and 25 years old. The husband is a known delinquent since middle school while the wife is a "Gyaru type" (a fashion subculture popular in 1990s to 2000s, often linked to delinquency) TikTok influencer.
This finding led to the police to quickly determine this is a "Tokuryū" crime, a combination word of "anonymous" and "fluid" coined by the National Police Agency. This is a new mode of organized crime that has been on the rise in Japan. Unlike the very hierarchical yakuza, "Tokuryū" crime are decentralized and rely heavily on digital communications. A typical "Tokuryū" crime begins with posts on social media, hiring people for some work with promise of high pay. The people that are hired do not necessarily know what the job is, who is behind the job offer and who their colleagues are. A typical job in "Tokuryū" maybe drug package delivery or scams, but often people who do it will get roped into more high-level "Tokuryū" crimes such as robbery because they have to show their ID which turns into blackmail material. After the crime is committed, the gang is disbanded. In essence, the muscle would have to take the risk of the crime, but the mastermind often gets away clean because no one knows who he is and cannot be linked.
To track down this modern day Japanese Bonnie and Clyde, the NPA ordered the Kanagawa Prefectural Police, Metropolitan Police Department and Saitama Prefectural Police to join the investigation. A "relay investigation" was launched as they poured through CCTV footage across the Capital Region to locate them. Three days later, the husband was arrested by the MPD in the Haneda International Airport, he was about to fly to Incheon, Korea and had already passed immigration then. The wife was arrested on the same day in a business motel in Yokohama by the KPP, when arrested, she was with their 7 month old daughter, who was sent to a child protection agency.
By now, police was able to map out the relationship between the members. The husband, using his relationship with B, was able to get him to hire two of his friends A and C (A and C don't know each other) and contacted E, an 18 year old recruiter to hire D (friend of E)as part of the group as well. The couple and juvenile had only officially met on the day of the robbery. They staged at a highway rest stop and the couple commanded the robbery over voice call with encrypted communications software. When investigating the couple's phone, it was discovered that the couple were not the mastermind of the case. The mastermind, Masuda Kazuhiko, is believed to have fled to Southeast Asia via China the same day the couple was arrested. He communicated with the couple via Signal and Telegram, developed the plan and purchased and supplied the crowbar. As of now, an Interpol Red Notice was issued for him and his passport was revoked after failing to comply with a passport return order, but he is still at large.
A, B, C, D and the couple were charged with murder during a robbery, attempted murder during a robbery and violating the Animal Welfare Act. If convicted, they will face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. E was charged with violating the Employment Security Act. If convicted, he will face a maximum sentence of ten years imprisonment and a fine of 3 million yen (18,831.80 USD)
On April 15, 2023, the Then-Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida was about to give a speech in support of his party's candidate for the Governor of Wakayama Prefecture election in the Saikazaki Fishing Port. However, a pipe bomb was hurled at PM Kishida. A police bodyguard, known as SP (Security Police) in Japan, saw the incoming projectile and swept the bomb away with his ballistic briefcase, which he then deployed it and rushed the PM back to his vehicle. At the same time, two fishermen and officers immediately grabbed hold of the bomber before he can throw a second bomb and wrestled him to the ground. Despite attempts of officers to get the crowd to leave (you can hear "hananero" which means leave in japanese), confusion and curiosity seemed to get the better of them and many just stuck around, as a result, most people were still on scene when the bomb exploded. Fortunately, the bomb was very weak and only an officer and a fisherman took minor injuries from shrapnel.
PM Kishida was rushed to the Wakayama Prefectural Police Headquarters until the situation was secured. The bombing came only 9 months after the successful assassination of former PM Shinzo Abe under similar circumstances and with the 49th G7 Summit in Hiroshima coming, it raised questions on the security situation of Japan. In a later speech, he apologized for causing concern and urged the public to focus on the election. He would meet and thank the fishermen who helped to subdue the bomber.
The bomber is a 24 year old jobless man. He was not on any watchlist and remained silent during the investigation, but Wakayama Prefectural Police believed that the bomber's motive was that he was displeased with the election system and decided to throw bombs at the PM as protest. The bomber was charged with attempted murder and violating the Penal Provisions for Explosives Control and was sentenced to 10 years of prison.
The Nishinari District in Osaka is known to be one of the poorest regions in Japan, namely because it is where a lot of day labourers lived. The day labourers faces very poor working conditions and are frequently exploited by employment agencies and gangs, which also lead to a very low trust to the police. As a result, frustration and depression would boil over from time to time, leading Nishinari to become one of the most prone to riots area in Japan.
On August 1, 1961, 9:52 p.m., a person was ran over by a taxi and killed. Officers from Osaka Prefectural Police Nishimari Police Station arrived and confirmed the death. However, the officers left the dead's body in front of a police box for twenty minutes during the investigation before moving it to the hospital. The day labourers accused the OPP of disrespecting the dead and surrounded the station. The protest soon descended into a riot and and began throwing stones, breaking windows and burning cars. By the next day, 4000 rioters had gathered and attacked any police related facilities, trains and taxis. On August 3, the OPP called in mutual aid from the neighbouring Kyoto Prefectural Police and Hyogo Prefectural Police, and gathered 6300 officers and finally dispersed the riot. One was killed and 600 were wounded.
This riot is the largest riot ever to be handled by the post-WW2 OPP. Despite attempts by local governments to improve the situation, the problems still remained and it would lead to a total of 24 riots breaking out throughout the decades with the last one being in 2008. The Nishinari District to this day still bears the reputation of being the most poor and dangerous area of Japan, although people can still reasonably expect to be safe outside even at night.
On May 11, 1970, Kawafuji Nobuhisa (the suspect that would be shot) and two juvenile friends A and B stole a car in the city of Fukuoka and headed east to Hiroshima. However, they were spotted midway by the Yamaguchi Prefectural Police and were all arrested. The trio were taken to the local police station in a patrol car and the stolen vehicle when Kawafuji and A who were held in the stolen car revealed a concealed stolen hunting piece (not specified but my guess is it was a sawn off hunting rifle/shotgun) A then stabbed the officer in the car with them and the two fled. (B failed to escape) The pair then stole a K-car and drove to a nearby city to switch out their clothing, they were planning to rob the Hiroshima Central Post office and took a train one stop short of their destination as the train was getting too packed. The duo decided to hide out in a nearby mountain for the night. Unfortunately for them, a civilian spotted them the next morning and their firearm and immediately called the police. Officers were dispatched to find them but couldn't locate them. They would finally be spotted by an officer who was riding on a K-truck bed that was transporting propane tanks. The officer fired a warning shot to stop them but Kawafuji threatened to shoot the truck driver and forced the officer to leave his revolver in the truck bed. Kawafuji then forced the truck driver to drive to the city centre and A was arrested by the officer who gave up his revolver after a fight. Now alone, Kawafuji made his way to a gun store and took three hunting pieces, 80 rounds of rifle ammo and 250 shotgun shells. He then broke through a checkpoint and entered the Port of Hiroshima. There he began shooting and attempted to board a ferry. An officer was shot trying to stop him. At 5:15 p.m., Kawafuji successfully hijacked a regional ferry and took its 9 crew and 36 passengers as hostages. He ordered the captain to sail to which ever big city he chose and the ferry began to make her way to the Port of Matsuyama in Ehime Prefecture across the bay.
With an escalating situation that escalated comes with a kicked hornet's nest. The Hiroshima Prefectural Police mobilized 1256 officers, around a third of it's force to secure the coast and sent six boats to pursue the ferry. The Japan Coast Guard sent 15 patrol crafts in support and the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force also dispatched a minesweeper and a torpedo boat at HPP's request to join the pursuit. The National Police Agency also ordered all Prefectural Police forces in Western Japan to secure their ports and deploy their helicopters to provide air support. In anticipation of the worst case scenario, the Ehime Prefectural Police prepared tear gas in case of a boarding operation and most importantly, a five-men sniper team from the Osaka Prefectural Police were flown in by the JMSDF. During the chase, Kawafuji opened fired and shot and critically injured an inspector on a police boat and shot the gas tank of a Cessna plane operated by the local press, almost causing it to crash. At 9:35 p.m., the ferry reached Matsuyama. Kawafuji demanded in exchange of all the passengers' release, the ferry will be refuelled, to which the EPP obliged. Two disguised EPP officers planned to take down Kawafuji during the refuel but Kawafuji refused to let them onboard and the plan was scrapped. The ferry set sailed again and travelled around the region aimlessly until she returned to the Port of Hiroshima on May 13, 8:50 a.m. Kawafuji's father and elder sister were brought in to get him to surrender but failed. Kawafuji then began shooting again, critically injuring another officer and almost shot down a police helicopter. By now, Kawafuji had fired 50 rifle rounds, 64 shotgun shells and rackd up at least 11 charges.
Fearing the escalating situation that escalated would escalate again, the Chief of HPP authorized to shoot to kill if no other option is possible. At 9:52 a.m., Kawafuji momentarily stopped shooting and stepped out to the deck to shout something to the police. 40 metres away on a breakwater, a sergeant from the OPP sniper team seized the chance and fired one shot, downing the suspect and making history as the first police officer and the only time a police sniper in post-WW2 Japan to ever shoot a hostage taker. Officers immediately boarded the ferry and arrested Kawafuji. Kawafuji was brought to the Hiroshima Prefectural Hospital for emergency surgery but was pronounced dead at 11:25 a.m.
The Hiroshima Regional Prosecutor's Office reviewed the sniper's actions and declared it to be legal, thus no charges would be filed. The Chief of HPP, at a meeting in the Prefectural Assembly, explained that the sniper was trying to shoot Kawafuji's right arm but hit his left chest instead. At the time, the majority of the Japanese public (including the suspect's father) supported the police shooting Kawafuji, but many media organizations were critical of the decision and doxxed the sniper. The Hokkaido Branch of the JCLU also launched a private prosecution at the HRPO accusing the Chief of HPP and the sniper of murder, stating that they were acting as judge, jury and executioner. Needless to say it went nowhere. The Hiroshima office of the largest opposition party of the time, the Japan Socialist Party accused the police of deciding to kill Kawafuji with the intention of making him an example. (Violent left wing political activites were quite rampant at the time, they might be trying to say that the police toke the shot to intimidate them) They would lodge a protest against the Chief of HPP and again at the Diet. At a later meeting at the Diet, the Commissioner General of the NPA would reveal that the sniper had resigned in combination of the stress from the media and guilt of having shot and killed Kawafuji.
This incident would have a long-lasting effect on how Japan police would resolve hostage crises in the coming decade. Two years later, during the Asama Lodge crisis, officers were initially forbidden from firing at the armed left-wing terrorists due to the lawsuit and doxxing which led to an increase of casualties. In the Mitsubishi Bank Hostage Crisis, when the OPP assault team planned the attack, it was decided that all officers would open fire together so the media cannot pinpoint who killed the perpetrator and ease the guilt of killing him. Entering the 1990s, violent crime has been increasing which led to increased officers getting injured or KIA. Therefore, in 2001, the firearms policy was revised and refined, since then, the number of police shooting has increased.