Editorial article:

Gun control in Japan

Firearms in civilian hands are almost nonexistent in Japan. Only under very special circumstances, a shotgun might be allowed for a hunting or sport shooting, but the procedure of obtaining one is made so difficult and expensive that hardly nobody goes through it.

It is said that yakuza pays happily a million yen for a working pistol. It is that much difficult to obtain one in Japan.

Quoting Japanese law:

"The only type of firearm which a Japanese citizen may even contemplate acquiring is a shotgun.[5] Sportsmen are permitted to possess shotguns for hunting and for skeet and trap (p.27)shooting, but only after submitting to a lengthy licensing procedure.[6] Without a license, a person may not even hold a gun in his or her hands."

So the law actually states that only holding a gun without permission is a crime. One does not even have to pull a trigger. I see healthy thinking in that. The rareness of the guns reflects of course in non-existent firearm related crimes in Japan. There are almost none. Yakuza has them, of course, but one must wonder how often they are used.

Having lived here Japanese neighborhood the thought of someone having a gun in their house seems like a joke. Of course nobody has a gun, so we don't have to be afraid of them. Of course, sometimes crimes happen involving knives, but it should be clear to everyone that while knives are useful kitchen tools, firearms can be only harmful for human beings.

The thinking is very different from the United States where people seriously think that their safety depends on having firearm and ammunition inside their house. "Keep the door locked, and shotgun under your bed" is a motto of several American families. The problem is that widespread in America.

In Japan, people are simply not just afraid. Japan is that safe country. If one should defend oneself, Japanese person thinks that defending does not mean lethally harming your opponent. That's where the magic of healthy self defence practise, such as aikido or judo comes to live.

Of course, crimes are happening in Japan too, especially in these troubled economic times when so many people are suffering from unemployement and search desperate measures to pay back that loan. But while living in country life Japan, one starts to feel that having so little guns around actually increases safety.

I think that Japan should extend it's knife control law and forbid hunting knifes, or at least they should be licensed. To possses katana in Japan also requires permission which is generally hard to get.

I certainly hope that Japan keeps it's gun control in future, even though some parties would like to see a change to it.

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