Replica Of Harry Potter Sword Withdrawn From Circulation In Japan For Violating Law

The Sword of Gryffindor. (Wikimedia Commons/Robert Clarke)

JAKARTA - The replica sword featured in the Harry Potter film franchise was withdrawn from its circulation in Japan for violating the country's strict weapons laws.

Replica of the original Godric Gryffindor sword - which measures 86 cm (34 inches) and is pasted on a wooden display placard - was sold by Warner Bros. Japanese Studio LLC from May 2023 to the end of April this year.

However, only in November did authorities tell the company the sword was sharp enough to be categorized as a real sword, quoted by the BBC December 24.

More than 350 replicas of the Godric Gryffindor sword were sold, according to reports, selling for 30,000 yen each.

The sword is sold at Warner Bros. Tokyo Tour Studio: The Making of Harry Potter, which opens in 2023 in Tokyo. This is touted as Asia's first studio tour and the world's largest indoor Harry Potter attraction.

Warner Bros. Japanese Studios LLC has published a notification of the sword's recall on its website, citing "distribution issues in Japan" and asked people who bought it to contact for "required actions including logistics and refunds".

"We apologize for the inconvenience," said Warner Bros. Studios Japan in a statement, quoted from Daily Sabah.

In the film "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", the fictional sword is said to be 1,000 years old and made by the founder of the MITist school, quoted by The Guardian.

Godric Gryffindor is one of the four founders of the Hogwarts magic school, along withLAH Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and handicraftotherin in the fictional Harry Potter series.

The Warner Bros. tour itself opened in 2023 at the location of the former Toshimaen theme park. This facility features sets of famous films, such as the London Ministry of Magic.

Meanwhile, Harry Potter fans who had to hand over the sword expressed their pain on social media.

The separation was "sad" and "very sad," one fan wrote on social media platform X, adding: "Gryffindor's true fellow students out there who agreed to withdraw voluntarily, I understand you."

"I just handed the Gryffindor sword over to the police, which I promised myself I would keep for the rest of my life," wrote another on X.

"I'm sure they will keep it well until it's thrown away."

Under the strict Japanese law of arms, carrying a knife of more than 6 cm (2 inches) length is prohibited, and violators face up to two years in prison.

Replica that is sharp enough to be classified as a sword under the law on controlling firearms and swords must be registered with the authorities, unless the sword is intended for training or decoration and cannot be honed.

It is known, the Land of the Rising Sun has a very low level of violence, although crimes involving weapons sometimes occur.

Last year, a 78-year-old man was arrested in Yokohama after attacking his neighbor with a ceremonial samurai sword during a fight.

In 2017, a samurai sword was found along with another knife at a Tokyo temple after an attack that killed three people.