Japan’s strict gun laws make shootings rare

The assassination of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe shocked Japan, a country with one of the lowest rates of gun crime in the world, due to its strict gun ownership laws.

Abe was shot dead on Friday in the city of Nara while delivering a campaign speech, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said.

Gun violence is extremely rare in the country.

In 2018, Japan, a country of 125 million people, recorded just nine firearm deaths – compared to 39,740 in the United States in the same year, according to data compiled by the Sydney School of Public Health at the University of Sydney. , in Australia.

Nancy Snow, the Japanese director of the Industrial Council for International Security, said that this gunshot death would change Japan forever.

“It’s not just rare, it’s culturally unfathomable,” she told the CNN . “The Japanese people cannot imagine having a gun culture like we have in the United States. This is a wordless moment. I really feel speechless.”

According to Japanese public broadcaster NHK, citing police, the suspect is a local man, who is in his 40s and used a handcrafted weapon.

Under Japanese firearms laws, the only weapons allowed for sale are shotguns and air rifles – firearms are prohibited. But getting them is a long and complicated process that takes effort — and a lot of patience.

To qualify for a firearms license, potential buyers must attend an all-day class, pass a written test and a marksmanship test with an accuracy of at least 95%. They must also undergo a mental health assessment and drug testing, as well as a rigorous background check – including a review of their criminal record, personal debts, verification of involvement in organized crime and relationships with family and friends.

After obtaining a weapon, the owner must register it with the police and provide details of where the weapon and ammunition are stored, in separate, locked compartments. The gun must be inspected by the police once a year, and owners must retake the class and an exam every three years to renew their license.

The restrictions kept the number of private gun owners extremely low in Japan.

In 2017, only about 377,000 guns were in civilian possession in Japan, in a country of 125 million people. That was 0.25 guns per 100 people, compared to about 120 guns per 100 people in the US, according to the Small Arms Survey, a project by the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva.

The last public shooting of a politician in Japan was in 2007, when Nagasaki Mayor Iccho Ito was shot at least twice in the back and at close range by an alleged gangster. He died after suffering a cardiac arrest.

Since then, Japan has further tightened its gun controls, imposing heavier punishments for crimes committed with weapons by organized crime gang members.

According to that review, owning a firearm as a member of organized crime can carry up to 15 years in prison; Possessing more than one weapon is also a crime, with a prison sentence of up to 15 years. Unloading a weapon in a public space, however, can result in life imprisonment.