Warner Bros. Studio Japan LLC has issued a recall for full-sized replicas of Godric Gryffindor's sword from the Harry Potter franchise, as they breached Japan’s stringent weapons laws. Measuring 86cm (34 inches) and mounted on a wooden plaque, these replicas were sold from May 2023 until late April of this year.
Authorities alerted the company in November that the swords were sharp enough to be classified as actual weapons, sparking the recall. Over 350 replicas were sold at the Warner Bros. Studio Tour Tokyo: The Making of Harry Potter, which opened in 2023 and is touted as the largest indoor Harry Potter attraction globally.
The company has published a recall notice on its website, addressing “a distribution issue in Japan” and urging customers to reach out for “necessary action, including logistics and refund.” As of now, Warner Bros. has not responded to inquiries from the media regarding the situation.
In accordance with Japan’s strict weapons regulations, carrying any knives that exceed 6cm (2 inches) is illegal, potentially leading to prison sentences of up to two years. Replicas that are sharp enough to be categorized as swords must be registered with the government unless intended strictly for training or decorative purposes and are not sharpened.
Despite Japan’s generally low rates of violence, incidents involving weapons do occur. Notable cases include a 78-year-old man arrested in Yokohama after an altercation with a neighbor using a ceremonial samurai sword, and a 2017 attack at a Tokyo shrine that resulted in three deaths, involving a samurai sword among other weapons found at the scene.
