Weapons control in Japan goes back to the Tokugawa Era in the 17th century. Simply put, commoners were forbidden to own guns or swords. That privilege was reserved for the nobility. Commoners could own bows or spears, for hunting or to be used when conscripted for war by their feudal lords.
That was a major impetus in the development of weaponless martial arts for self-defense. Bows and spears are not particularly useful as defensive weapons. It also gave a great allure to military service in the 20th century -- the forbidden weapons were suddenly freely available to peasant conscripts.
True, the postwar US occupation of Japan did much to disarm the Japanese population, but they were only armed insofar as was required by their nation's wartime footing and the anticipated Allied invasion of Japanese mainland. The Japanese government expected the civilian population to participate in the armed defense of their homeland, and was mobilizing and arming them to that end. Needless to say, after Japan's surrender following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it was common sense for the occupiers to disarm the general population.
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