Japan Gun Laws, Strictest in Free World. Works well..... Or not...

[velojym]

Or...
You could pop off a chemical weapon on a commuter train... ooops.. that was done in Japan. Or, touch off a load of gasoline on a Korean train.

To make an attempt at comparing apples to apples, Japanese immigrants in the US have a lower crime rate than the ones who stayed in Japan, despite the 'easy' availability of guns in the States. This is from either Michael & Me or the gun control Bull**** episode, I forget.

Regardless of how he got it, and what he *started* to do, a FREE individual could have stopped the attack quickly. There's a lot of blood on the hands of those who would disarm the innocent.

 

[toivo]

A few observations about Japan--I lived there for 8 years:

Japanese gangsters get their handguns from all over, but especially the Philippines, China, and the former Soviet bloc. Lots of Tokarevs. There is a black market, but it's pretty closed. In other words, if you aren't yakuza, nobody's going to sell you a gun or even discuss selling you a gun. In fact, if you even try to ask somebody about it, you'll probably get the crap kicked out of you.

Japanese culture emphasizes family and social obligations. It is often called a "shame-based" culture, where one of the strongest motivators is "What would the neighbors say?" Without family, you are nothing. People who are convicted of crimes and go to prison are very frequently disowned by their families, as in "How's my son? I have no son." Prison sentences are long and prison conditions are harsh: shackling, stress positions, enforced silence and isolation, beatings, denial of food and water, etc. People who have been in prison are unemployable social pariahs.

Capital punishment is done by hanging, and is carried out in secret, with no notification to the families of the prisoner until after the sentence has been carried out. Then the family is sent a notice that they can come to pick up the body of their relative if they want.

Japan's weapons laws date back to the period of the shoguns, and were specifically aimed at keeping the peasants disarmed so that they couldn't revolt against the shogunate. It's pretty much the polar opposite of the Second Amendment. It's also one of the reasons that martial arts developed as they did: With the ruling class having a monopoly on the muskets, swords, bows, and spears, the common folk had to have a way to defend themselves.

Hope some of this helps illuminate the difference between our two societies.

 

[velojym]

Thanks, toivo. I had a little info from here and there, but I still need to do some reading.
Real free country they got there...