The Supreme Court on Friday backed a hunter seeking to cancel the revocation of his gun license that was decided after he shot a bear at the request of a municipality in Hokkaido.
The top court’s Third Petty Bench, in a unanimous decision among its five justices, overturned a high court ruling that it was legal for Hokkaido to revoke his gun license on the grounds that his shot could have damaged nearby buildings. The victory of the hunter, Haruo Ikegami, 77, head of a branch of Hokkaido’s hunting club, has now become final.
This was the first time for the Supreme Court to rule the revocation of a hunting gun license to be illegal. After the judgment, local governments are expected to become more careful about deciding disciplinary action against hunters in a country experiencing an increase in bear attack incidents.