I've never really been into politics. When I was a kid I liked who my parents liked, hated who my parents hated, and really couldn't have cared less about who won the election. I simply wasn't interested. As an adult I've started paying a little more attention in politics, but not too much. So you shouldn't be surprised to hear that digging up political issues in both America and Japan wasn't as easy as it sounds. Not for me, anyway. I was told to try to pick topics that I know something about, and that led me to the first political issue that both countries face: unemployment. The United States' unemployment rate is, as you probably know, pretty high. In February of 2010, just one month ago, America's unemployment rate was 9.70 percent (TradingEconomics). That's just shy of it's ten-percent unemployment rate a month prior. I was included in that unemployed ten-percent. Having worked for Sprint for a year and a half, my whole branch was outsourced and laid off last June. Getting a new job was nearly impossible, and I found myself surviving on the unemployment benefits provided to me by our government. Before I knew it those benefits ran out, conveniently around Christmas time. And even though I was given a ten week extension thanks to President Obama, I realized that I couldn't live off of those benefits forever. By definition, unemployment is “the percentage or number of people who are involuntarily unemployed” (Dictionary.com). Every major country has it's own unemployment rate, some larger than others. Japan is no different. The unemployment rate in Japan has almost always been less than the unemployment rate in the United States. In January of 2010, the unemployment rate in Japan was 4.90 percent (TradingEconomics), a little under half of America's unemployment rate that month. Both the United States and Japan are within the top fifteen countries with the highest unemployment rate, with Japan having the eleventh highest rate and the United States having the second highest, just below Spain (The Economist). There are several explanations for the amount of unemployment in both countries. One reason for the rise of unemployment in America is because companies are “convinced that the economic slowdown will be severe and prolonged” (BBC News), causing the companies to do anything in their power to reduce their losses, including faster job cuts. Meanwhile, Japanese companies are firing fewer workers than the United States, but their hire-on rate is low because they still have “excess labor”, which shows that the job recovery rate will be moderate (TradingEconomics.com). And although Japan's unemployment rate may be smaller than America's, they have the second largest economy in the world—second to the United States (Southwest Economy). This means that American and Japanese issues can slow down the entire global economy. As I've explained earlier in this paper, unemployment has effected my life a great deal here in the States. It's interesting to see how it's effecting people in Japan and all over the world. But unemployment is only one of the many political issues that both Japan and America share. Another issue, although I'm not quite as passionate about as I am with the unemployment topic, is gun control. When it comes to gun control in the United States, the nation is divided almost in half. Some people believe that gun control would be a horrible mistake, while others believe it would save lives. It's hard to research the topic without sinking into some pretty biased websites. In an attempt to get the facts, I've stumbled across this little tidbit of information: in 2006, 68 percent of murders were committed with a firearm (Bureau of Justice Statistics). This statistic may show that gun control is something that should be enforced. On the other hand, many Americans believe that the Constitution should guarantee their right to own a handgun. Nearly three out of every four Americans oppose banning people from owning handguns, although more than sixty percent want automatic and assault weapons banned (Guns in America). There is no real gun control in America at this current place and time, although there are some obvious gun restrictions. Japan, however, is a whole different story. You probably won't see a civilian owning their own firearm in Japan because the process of obtaining one is very difficult and expensive. According to Japanese law, "The only type of firearm which a Japanese citizen may even contemplate acquiring is a shotgun. Sportsmen are permitted to possess shotguns for hunting and for skeet and trap shooting, but only after submitting to a lengthy licensing procedure. Without a license, a person may not even hold a gun in his or her hands” (Hanami Web). This means that simply having a gun in your possession is a crime—you don't even have to fire it! Because of the gun control laws in Japan, gun-related crimes are virtually non-existent. In fact, Japan has one of the lowest crime rates in the world. In 1988, the Japanese homicide rate was only 1.2 per 1,000 people, which was far less than America's 8.4 per 1,000 people (Second Amendment Project). The only people who are technically allowed to carry a firearm in Japan are the police or licensed hunters, not civilians. While there are many people who would probably disagree with me, the gun control policies in Japan appear to be working well for them. The fact that their homicide rate is so low and that they have such strict gun control isn't a coincidence, if you ask me. The Japanese see handguns as killing and injuring tools, while the Americans see possessing handguns as their constitutional right and as part of their history. Approximately one-thousand guns are confiscated in Japan per year, and since around thirty percent of those guns are from the United States, gun problems in America are also problems in Japan (Gun Control in Japan and the United States). When comparing these two countries' gun control policies, it's clear to see that they're completely different. Gun control policies and laws can change, and there's talk about the United States banning handguns and Japan tolerating handguns. But until these changes occur, if they even do occur, gun control will continue to be enforced by Japan and opposed by the United States. Deciding which country has the right idea is difficult to say. Before I started writing this research paper I had to come up with two political topics, and doing so was pretty difficult. There are so many topics to choose from—so many things America and Japan have in common, so many things they don't. Unemployment rates and gun control are just two examples out of many. And while they may each have different figures and outcomes, both topics tie into one another in many ways. Many of goods sold in America are made in Japan, cars being one example. So Japan, in a way, creates jobs for Americans, effecting our unemployment rate. At the same time, American products are sold in Japan, so America creates jobs in Japan. When it comes to gun control, Americans can either learn from Japan's policies and banish gun possession for civilians, thus theoretically reducing gun related crimes. On the other hand, Americans can view Japanese gun control policies as freedom-restrictive and vow never to apply gun control laws. Politics in Japan and America are both very different and very much alike, and I found it very interesting researching these two issues. And that says a lot coming from a guy who really isn't into politics.

Works Cited
BBC News. “Why is US unemployment rising?” News.BBC.co.uk. N.p. 09 Jan. 2009. Web. 20 Mar. 2010.
Bureau of Justice Statistics. “Weapon Use By Offense Type.” OJP.USDOJ.GOV. N.p. 01 Mar. 2010. Web. 20 Mar. 2010.
Dictionary.com. “Unemployment.” The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. Web. 20 Mar. 2010.
Gun Control in Japan and the United States. “Gun Control in Japan / Gun Control in the United States” Plala.or.jp. N.p. N.a. Web. 20 Mar. 2010.
Guns in America. “Rights and Regulations.” Chron.com. Albany Times Union. Harry Lipman. 1997. Web. 20 Mar. 2010.
Hanami Web. “Gun control in Japan.” HanamiWeb.com. N.p. N.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2010.
Second Amendment Project. “Gun Control and People Control in Japan.” DaveKopel.com. Richard Griffiths. N.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2010.
Southwest Economy. “Japan's Economic Policy Conundrums.” Dallasfed.org. Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Issue 4, July/August 2003. Web. 20 Mar. 2010.
The Economist. “Jobs gloom, with glimmers: Unemployment in America.” MyNews.in. The Economist. N.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2010.
TradingEconomics. “Japan Unemployment Rate.” TradingEconomics.com. N.p. 28 Jan. 2010. Web. 20 Mar. 2010.
TradingEcomonics. “United States Unemployment Rate.” TradingEconomics.com. N.p. 05 Mar. 2010. Web. 20 Mar. 2010.