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28-year-old Shonan Institute of Technology employee, Yoshitomo Imura, has been jailed for two years for making 3D-printed revolvers.
In what appears to be the first sentence of its kind, Imura was arrested in May and sentenced on Monday, October 20th for producing and possessing two functional firearms.
Known as ZigZag revolvers, the guns can take six .38 calibre bullets.
The arrest came after authorities in Japan got wind of a YouTube video in which Imura was seen firing a gun.
Japan has very strict gun laws and the prosecutors for the case argued that Imura could have caused major damage to society as he had made the data for the 3D-printed guns easily available on the internet.
Last year, the UK Home Office introduced formal legislation banning 3D-printed guns.
The world of 3D printing is not all about weaponry. A number of companies and individuals have designed and created many useful, innovative, and legal products.
Researchers in Taiwan have managed to print computer memory on to pieces of paper using a 3D-printer, Pi-Top have designed a 3D-printed Raspberry Pi laptop, HTC teamed up with designer Justin Wolter to produce a 3D-printed speaker, and finnish designer Janne Kyttanen launched a collection of 3D-printed shoes.
