Japanese weapon regulations are proving stronger than Hogwarts magic. The Warner Bros Studio Tour Tokyo has run into a wall with its decorative sword sales from the super-popular “Making of Harry Potter“ show
The company started asking buyers to return their 34-inch long Gryffindor sword replicas (which come with a nice wood-mounted display) about two weeks ago. The recall notice had some interesting differences: the english version talks about distribution problems; while japanese text hints at legal worries
The sword - which was sold as a movie-accurate copy of Godric Gryffindors famous blade - seems to have crossed paths with japans strict rules about weapon-like items. Even though its just meant to be hung on walls the laws dont make exceptions for magical artifacts
The whole thing shows how even the most well-known fantasy items cant escape real-world rules: no matter if youre a wizard or a muggle you still need to follow local laws