A teenager in Hyogo Prefecture was arrested Monday on suspicion of making an air gun capable of killing a person and possessing three such weapons, police said.
The first-year high school student has admitted to the charges, the police said. His name was withheld because he is a minor.
The gun allegedly made by the 16-year-old was 2.08 meters long and capable of shooting a metal bullet through a steel can from a distance of around 1 meter. It was allegedly made at his home in Itami, Hyogo Prefecture, between last June and November.
He is also suspected of possessing two other guns — 1.18 meters long and 1.4 meters long — that are less powerful than the first one but still capable of causing injury, the police said. These guns are designed to shoot a metal bullet propelled by flammable gas. They were created using commercial plastic pipes based on production methods available online, the police said.
The police also confiscated a steel can with a hole in it that is believed to have been used for test-shooting. No shootings of people or animals with the guns have been confirmed.