How Japan has almost eradicated gun crime

[rpannier]

f you want to buy a gun in Japan you need patience and determination. You have to attend an all-day class, take a written exam and pass a shooting-range test with a mark of at least 95%.

There are also mental health and drugs tests. Your criminal record is checked and police look for links to extremist groups. Then they check your relatives too - and even your work colleagues. And as well as having the power to deny gun licences, police also have sweeping powers to search and seize weapons.

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The law restricts the number of gun shops. In most of Japan's 40 or so prefectures there can be no more than three, and you can only buy fresh cartridges by returning the spent cartridges you bought on your last visit.

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"Ever since guns entered the country, Japan has always had strict gun laws," says Iain Overton, executive director of Action on Armed Violence and the author of Gun Baby Gun.

https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-38365729

No handguns at all. Only rifles and shotguns may be purchased

[mr_lebowski]

1. Obviously, they live under the yoke of a tyrannical regime ... and hate us for our freedoms (nt)

[John Fante]

2. There were 306 murders in Japan (2017). All methods.

For a population of 127 million people, that is absurdly low. It's mind-blowing.

I doubt there's a single US state with a population over five milion with a total that low. Florida, for example, saw 1,057 murders in 2017.

[NCLefty]

3. They also don't have morons who consider gun ownership "freedom."

[crickets]

4. +1

[dalton99a]

5. Only six shots were fired by Japanese police nationwide in 2015

Japanese police officers rarely use guns and put much greater emphasis on martial arts - all are expected to become a black belt in judo. They spend more time practising kendo (fighting with bamboo swords) than learning how to use firearms.

"The response to violence is never violence, it's always to de-escalate it. Only six shots were fired by Japanese police nationwide [in 2015]," says journalist Anthony Berteaux. "What most Japanese police will do is get huge futons and essentially roll up a person who is being violent or drunk into a little burrito and carry them back to the station to calm them down."

[Cicada]

6. Isolated for centuries they are weird, like a platypus in Australia

The Japanese developed culture free of outside influence and are, well, different. After the earthquake and tsunami citizens turned in tens of millions in cash they found. I read that you can safely leave a five thousand dollar camera in a parked convertible.

[dalton99a]

7. "If you drop your wallet in Japan it will be returned" is not a myth:

It is often said that Japan is very safe and secure compared to the rest of the world. The country is one of a handful of places in the world where people feel safe enough to fall asleep on trains or at stations. These people may even leave their bags open or have their phones on their laps, however it is very rare for valuables to be stolen. When comparing Japan’s safety and security to other nations, the most notable example cited is “if you drop your wallet in Japan it will be returned.” This statement isn’t a myth! Let’s take a look to see why wallets get returned in Japan. ...

https://livejapan.com/en/in-tokyo/in-pref-tokyo/in-akihabara/article-a0002489/