A carcharhinid shark was caught in a set-net fishery off Wajima City in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. The individual was identified as a copper shark Carcharhinus brachyurus based on morphological characteristics and DNA barcoding using the 12S ribosomal RNA and cytochrome c oxidase subunit l gene (cox1) regions of the mitochondrial DNA. In Japan, the copper shark has been recorded from the Sea of Japan, including the coasts of Hokkaido, Niigata and Yamaguchi prefectures; and from the Pacific coast, including the Kashima-nada Sea, the east coast of the Boso Peninsula, Sagami Bay, the Ariake Sea and the south coast of Kyushu. This report represents the first reliable record of the copper shark from Ishikawa Prefecture.