Eric Talmadge, Associated Press
Though its gun ownership rates are tiny compared to the United
States, Japan has more than 120,000 registered gun owners and more than
400,000 registered firearms. So why is there so little gun violence?
"We have a very different way of looking at guns in
Japan than people in the United States," said Tsutomu Uchida, who runs
the Kanagawa Ohi Shooting Range, an Olympic-style training center for
rifle enthusiasts. "In the U.S., people believe they have a right to own
a gun. In Japan, we don't have that right. So our point of departure is
completely different."
Treating gun ownership as a privilege and not a right leads to some important policy differences.
First, anyone who wants to get a gun must
demonstrate a valid reason why they should be allowed to do so. Under
longstanding Japanese policy, there is no good reason why any civilian
should have a handgun, so - aside from a few dozen accomplished
competitive shooters - they are completely banned.
Virtually all handgun-related crime is attributable
to gangsters, who obtain them on the black market. But such crime is
extremely rare and when it does occur, police crack down hard on
whatever gang is involved, so even gangsters see it as a last-ditch
option.
Rifle ownership is allowed for the general public, but tightly controlled.
Applicants first must go to their local police
station and declare their intent. After a lecture and a written test
comes range training, then a background check. Police likely will even
talk to the applicant's neighbors to see if he or she is known to have a
temper, financial troubles or an unstable household. A doctor must sign
a form saying the applicant has not been institutionalized and is not
epileptic, depressed, schizophrenic, alcoholic or addicted to drugs.
Gun owners must tell the police where in the home
the gun will be stored. It must be kept under lock and key, must be kept
separate from ammunition, and preferably chained down. It's legal to
transport a gun in the trunk of a car to get to 1 of the country's few
shooting ranges, but if the driver steps away from the vehicle and gets
caught, that's a violation.
See what happens when the Constitution doesn't protect a basic right? But you keep trying to reassure us that if the Second Amendment got repealed, we'd still get to have our guns.
ReplyDelete"Virtually all handgun-related crime is attributable to gangsters, who obtain them on the black market. But such crime is extremely rare and when it does occur, police crack down hard on whatever gang is involved, so even gangsters see it as a last-ditch option." Total BULL SHIT!! Japan's strictly-regulated guns play very little part in crime. In 1985, for example, only 35 crimes, including 10 murders, were committed with hunting guns.
ReplyDeleteAlthough handguns are completely forbidden to civilians, they still figure somewhat more often in crime. Handguns were used in 209 crimes in 1985. About 2/3 of all gun crimes are committed by Boryokudan, organized crime groups.
As the gun-banners point out, the Japanese crime rate is dramatically lower than the U.S. rate. Tokyo, the world's safest major city, suffers muggings at the rate of 40 per year per one
million inhabitants. New York City's rate is 11,000.
According to government statistics, Japan has 1.5 homicides per 100,000 citizens each year, and America has 7.9. Actually, the gap between U.S. and Japanese homicide rates is not quite as large as the official statistics indicate. The real Japanese murder rate is about twice the reported rate; unlike the U.S., Japan does not count an attempt to injure, but which accidentally causes death, as a homicide. The F.B.I. also over-counts American murders, by listing the 1,500 - 2,500 legal, self- defense fatal shootings of criminals as illegal homicide. Still, Japan's actual homicide rate is two to three times lower than the U.S. rate. As for handgun murders, the U.S. rate is 200 times higher than Japan's. http://www.davekopel.com/2A/Foreign/Japan-Gun-Control-and-People-Control.htm