The Sapporo District Court decided Thursday to grant a retrial to a Russian man who was sentenced to two years in prison for possessing a handgun in 1997, acknowledging he was convicted because of an "illegal undercover investigation" by local police.

Presiding Judge Koji Saeki granted the retrial to the former sailor, saying, "A collaborator in police investigations initiated a deal to exchange a handgun with a valuable secondhand car," thereby prompting the Russian man to bring in the gun.

"It was an illegal investigation that induced" the crime, Saeki said. "The state that should be preventing crimes have created a crime involving a handgun, thereby threatening the life and safety of its citizens."