A look at the Japanese Stance on Gun Control
Charles Gutierrez, Leonie Nina Manguiri, & Mark Benacquisto
BCOM/275
Mike Rhia
University of Phoenix
February 5, 2012

A Look at the Japanese Stance on Gun Control
The Japanese government and society is much different than that of the United States (U.S.) and therefore have different laws governing the ownership of firearms. The Japanese people are among the most law-abiding people on earth, and far more law-abiding than Americans. America’s non-gun robbery rate is over 70 times Japan’s, an indication that something more significant than gun policy is involved in the differing crime rates between the two nations (Kopel, 1993). The Japanese have banned all firearms except one, the shotgun. Sportsmen can possess a shotgun for skeet, sporting, and hunting purposes. However the licensing procedure is much more in depth than American standards today. The Japanese require classroom training, written exam, shooting test, and a mental exam (Kopel, 1993). As an American, I can go to my local Wal Mart and purchase a shotgun today without even a background check.
Firearm control is an area the U.S. could take a lesson from the Japanese. After going through the above process to obtain a firearm, the Japanese police require a lay out of the home and require the firearm to be locked in a locker. Whereas in the United States it is required the manufacturers provide a trigger lock. Most of the time these trigger locks provide little protection from a motivated or curious individual.
Crimes involving firearms do exist in Japan but most of these crimes are acquainted to organized crime. The belief behind the small number of crimes involving firearms is that first they are illegal to own and come with a hefty fine, up to ten year imprisonment and a 1 million yen fine. It is not uncommon in the U.S. to hear of a firearm crime and the penalty is generally probation. The Japanese culture is vastly different than the U.S. When we were kids we were witness to “The Lone Ranger” and “GI Joe” which glorified weapons such as firearms. The Japanese are a society with rich background in the martial arts. It wasn’t until the late 40’s that the Japanese government even required the police to be armed. To this day the Japanese rely more on their martial art skills than the firearm that is holstered at their side. Japan does have a lower crime rate due to the firearm restrictions but this is not the sole reason for the lower crime rate. The Japanese police are among the most powerful in the world because the people of Japan are not granted the same rights as Americans. The Japanese police can search an individual, a home, a place of business without consent or reason. The blatant disregard to privacy is just as much an indicator to why crime is low in Japan along with the cultural differences already mentioned.

References
Kopel, D. (1993). Retrieved February 4, 2012 from http://davekopel.org/2a/LawRev/Japanese_Gun_Control.htm