A Land Without Guns: How Japan Has Virtually Eliminated Shooting Deaths

[Whovian]

I've heard it said that, if you take a walk around Waikiki, it's only a matter of time until someone hands you a flyer of scantily clad women clutching handguns, overlaid with English and maybe Japanese text advertising one of the many local shooting ranges. The city's largest, the Royal Hawaiian Shooting Club, advertises instructors fluent in Japanese, which is also the default language of its website. For years, this peculiar Hawaiian industry has explicitly targeted Japanese tourists, drawing them away from beaches and resorts into shopping malls, to do things that are forbidden in their own country.

Waikiki's Japanese-filled ranges are the sort of quirk you might find in any major tourist town, but they're also an intersection of two societies with wildly different approaches to guns and their role in society. Friday's horrific shooting at an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater has been a reminder that America's gun control laws are the loosest in the developed world and its rate of gun-related homicide is the highest. Of the world's 23 "rich" countries, the U.S. gun-related murder rate is almost 20 times that of the other 22. With almost one privately owned firearm per person, America's ownership rate is the highest in the world; tribal-conflict-torn Yemen is ranked second, with a rate about half of America's.

But what about the country at the other end of the spectrum? What is the role of guns in Japan, the developed world's least firearm-filled nation and perhaps its strictest controller? In 2008, the U.S. had over 12 thousand firearm-related homicides. All of Japan experienced only 11, fewer than were killed at the Aurora shooting alone. And that was a big year: 2006 saw an astounding two, and when that number jumped to 22 in 2007, it became a national scandal. By comparison, also in 2008, 587 Americans were killed just by guns that had discharged accidentally.

Almost no one in Japan owns a gun. Most kinds are illegal, with onerous restrictions on buying and maintaining the few that are allowed. Even the country's infamous, mafia-like Yakuza tend to forgo guns; the few exceptions tend to become big national news stories.

Japanese tourists who fire off a few rounds at the Royal Hawaiian Shooting Club would be breaking three separate laws back in Japan -- one for holding a handgun, one for possessing unlicensed bullets, and another violation for firing them -- the first of which alone is punishable by one to ten years in jail. Handguns are forbidden absolutely. Small-caliber rifles have been illegal to buy, sell, or transfer since 1971. Anyone who owned a rifle before then is allowed to keep it, but their heirs are required to turn it over to the police once the owner dies.

More at http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/07/a-land-without-guns-how-japan-has-virtually-eliminated-shooting-deaths/260189/

[DanTex]

1. And it's not just Japan.

The UK, which has very tight gun laws, also has very few shooting deaths.

In fact, no other wealthy Democracy has a rate of gun deaths anywhere close to the US.

[NRA_SUCKS]

68. You're assuming the US is a wealthy democracy...

neither honestly seems to be the case since * got into office, sadly.
Obama has done his level best but we're still far from either, let alone both statusii

we are a poor oligarchy and the assholes in power want it that way.

[ellisonz]

69. Welcome to DU!

[Indydem]

2. Man, all we have to do is strip people of their freedoms, and they will be super safe!

Oh so safe!

[MightyMopar]

3. Yeah, like Australia, Sweden, the UK, etc are gulags

[OldDem2012]

6. Yes, thanks to your definition of our "freedoms"....

....we're really "super safe" from those who are so hate-filled and/or screwed up mentally they can obtain one or more guns that are easily available and shoot up a college campus, a shopping mall, a theater, or an elementary school. And those are just the mass shootings over the past several years. I'm sure you're aware that your definition of our "freedoms" allows the shooting deaths of almost 10,000 Americans every year.

Thanks for your heartfelt concern about our "freedoms". Duly noted.

[Indydem]

10. And my belief in freedom:

"Allows" 34,485 people to die in automobile accidents.

It "allows" 41,592 to die due to poisoning.

The people who die due to firearms in this country do not represent a statistical probability.

Your attempts to sensationalize the acts of a few into actions against the millions of responsible gun owners in America is disgusting.

[DanTex]

25. "Do not represent a statistical probability"??? What does that mean?

30,000 people die from guns every year in the US. That's a huge number. And unlike, say, cars, which are a very essential part of life, without which society would grid to a halt, the gun deaths are unnecessary.

Disgusting is the callous indifference for human life that extremist gun fanatics like you exhibit. Gun violence does not have to be a fact of life.

[Indydem]

32. And 19,000 of those are suicides.

They will kill themselves with or without a firearm.

Nice try distorting facts.

Guns are an essential part of life for millions of Americans. Whether that is hunting for food, protecting their herds from animals, or eliminating nuisance animals like skunks and raccoons.

They are no less important for those people than driving is for other people, but because of your lack of perspective and your narrow worldview, all you can see is people who are not responsible gun owners doing violence upon other people.

I have a love of life. I also have a love of liberty. And I will not sit by and allow the disturbed actions of a few to result in the punishment of hundreds of millions of Americans.

[DanTex]

38. Keep the NRA talking points coming.

Regarding suicide, there are plenty of studies on guns and suicide showing that guns greatly increase suicide risks. Fact is, most suicidal impulses are temporary, and the availability of easy and lethal means (i.e. a gun) frequently makes the different between life and death. So it is simply not true that those 19,000 people are going to kill themselves with or without a gun. Given your posts here, I'm pretty sure you are able to convince yourself of anything, no matter how absurd, if it helps you justify your extremists gun politics, but if you are interested in the facts, you can start here.
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/means-matter/

And sorry, but civilian gun ownership is not nearly as important as cars. Yes, there are plenty of law abiding gun owners who enjoy hunting or target shooting, but to compare the importance of guns to cars is plainly idiotic.

[morningfog]

43. THey are an NRA member, they have no credibility and should not be engaged with.

[RC]

41. How many of us city slickers need guns to protect their herds or to eliminate nuisance animals?

Killing machines? For that are what guns are, killing machines. Essential part of life, really? How have I survived to be 68 years old without owning an 'essential' killing machine?
A love of life? I'm sure those kids and their parents had a love of life too, before the shootings. Too bad because of some people's love of death machines, many innocent people (read children) are now dead.

The definition of a responsible gun owner is one that has not shot anyone yet, either accidentally or on purpose. As soon as that happens, they are no longer a 'responsible gun owner'. Nice try.

Guns are an essential part of life for millions of Americans. Whether that is hunting for food, protecting their herds from animals, or eliminating nuisance animals like skunks and raccoons.

[thucythucy]

77. "...nuisiance animals like skunks and racoons..."

You are seriously arguing we all need to be armed to the teeth to protect ourselves from skunks?

Really, that has to be one of the most absurd (and coming after last week one of the most callous) defenses of the gun lobby I've ever seen.

Oh lordy lordy there's a racoon in the backyard! Quick, hand me my assault rifle! And thank God for the NRA!

[intaglio]

27. Thank you for your support of gun control

If drivers were not trained examined for license then, in all likelihood more deaths would result. What you have just done is give a wonderful reason for training and licensing all gun owners.

As for your statistics - Dying from gun violence is a possibility; or as you fail to see, a "statistical probability."

And saying that some things appear more dangerous than guns does not allow you to say that guns are not dangerous nor that the danger to the general population could not be reduced by gun control.

[spanone]

33. tell it to the parents of the dead children. i dare you.

[Indydem]

37. Bad things happen. Planes crash. Cars wreck. People get sick. People get shot.

It's part of life. You accept the trade. You make a statistical evaluation. 309,999,997 firearms didn't kill anyone on Friday.

You don't want guns. I get it. You are in the slim minority.

Continue to espouse your beliefs. You should.

But don't be so narrow minded and mean to those who believe otherwise.

[99Forever]

42. A gun psycho with your kind of mentality...

... just mass murdered 20 CHILDREN and you think people are being "mean" to you?


That's the most ridiculous, fucking asinine whine I've heard out of a gun apologist yet.


I'll make you a deal manly man. When you get your fellow gun fetishists to stop mowing down innocent people for no good fucking reason, we'll quit being "mean" to you. In the meantime, suck it up cowboy, 'cuz we ain't backing off this time.

[Indydem]

55. Oh how completely wrong and hateful you are

The man who killed those kids didn't share any single thing in common with me. We sure as hell didn't share any beliefs in guns.

The fact that you used the term "gun fetishist" proves you are neither intelligent nor mature enough to have a discussion with me on this matter. The fact you think that this has anything to do with being a "manly man" betrays your immaturity.

Gun control is dead. It's been dead for decades. If you and people like you are allowed to make your ludicrous "ban em all" policies the platform of the Democratic Party, we can look forward to setting the the party back several decades.

[99Forever]

61. Bye bye gun nut.

[COLGATE4]

51. Great response: "Shit happens". I agree with

the other poster - go tell that to the parents of the dead kids. I'm sure they'll understand.

[CreekDog]

46. was Friday's shooting an accident?

if you want us to take you seriously, you need to make serious and not false arguments.

you have pretty much guaranteed that the gun rights point of view will be seen as 100% total bullshit --why? because started it off with a big fat lie.

that's your fault. you are the one who in this thread has made the gun rights argument a joke and a non entity in this argument.

but keep posting, the more you do, the more likely gun control gets.

[catnhatnh]

70. How many of those...

34,485 are victims of vehicular homicide?

41,592 are poisoned intentionally?


And tell me again why being "improbably" shot makes BEING shot a less of a problem???

[rDigital]

11. We have armed guards protecting our money in armored cars, why not our children?

What's more valuable? Schools are soft targets for terrorism. That needs to end.

[baldguy]

13. The community of gun owners have proven they are incapable of keeping their weapons secure.

A national gun ban is the only right & reasonable solution to keep us safe, secure & free. If you believe otherwise then you're part of the problem.

[Indydem]

16. I'm part of the problem???

You are supporting a national gun ban, and I'm the problem??

Your extremism is precisely what has gotten us to this point. Your sentiments are disgusting.

[baldguy]

21. Your support of laws allow the mass murders of innocent chidren to be commonplace.

You helped Sandy Hook to happen. Hope your pride keeps you warm in hell.

[ThatPoetGuy]

24. You ARE the problem, not part of it.

Those kids would still be alive if scumbags weren't working so hard to eliminate truth from the discussion.

[DanTex]

28. Yes, you are part of the problem.

You and the rest of the GOP/NRAers who are responsible for the absurdly lax gun laws that guarantee that people will continue to die needlessly by the tens of thousands.

[cantbeserious]

31. Yep - You Are Part Of The Problem

eom

[morningfog]

45. Yes, you are the problem.

[CreekDog]

48. you lied about what's proposed

that is a problem.

[Indydem]

56. Where did I lie??? N/t

[derby378]

54. Looks like you've developed an accidental fan club

And no, I do not believe a national gun ban will help us - far from it. Just look what happened in 1994 when we tried that the last time.

[madinmaryland]

76. Based on your posts the last several days, the answer to your question has to be "yes".

[DanTex]

22. Guns have very little to do with freedom.

[ThatPoetGuy]

23. This is right-wing propaganda and has no place in a discussion among adults.

If a crib causes baby deaths, do you argue banning it "strips people of their freedoms"? How about medicines that are only available by prescription?

Are Japan and Australia lands of the oppressed and unfree?

No: freedom isn't gun ownership.

I'm so tired of this Orwellian bullshit.

Every day, Americans sacrifice their freedoms so that fetishists can own their guns.

Guns make us LESS FREE, especially the poor and people of color.

You are advocating for oppression and racism when you lie and pretend that guns make people free.

And yes, there is blood on your hands for yesterday's events. YOU should be held responsible, for trying to spread the moronic ideas that allow these things to happen again and again.

If each and every person like you were to keel over dead of a heart attack, the world would be a drastically improved place.

[retread]

36. You say "strip people of their freedoms" I hear--I won't let them take

[nadinbrzezinski]

60. You want your guns

Go join the guard. That is what the founders meant.

[Heywood J]

71. In many counties across the USA,

I still can't sit back in my own home and have a beer. But I can surround myself with hundreds of lethal weapons and convince myself that doomsday is coming.

Some freedom there.

[rDigital]

4. The Japanese turn their violence inward. Their suicide rates are unbelievable.

23.9 per 100K. That's almost 6x the US's TOTAL murder rate (4.2 per 100k) It's also about 50% higher than the US's suicide and total murder rates combined (12 & 4.2).

There's no guns there either. What's up with that?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_suicide_rate

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate

[jody]

7. You beat me to it. Culture plays a part, e.g. Black and White have same access to guns but have

different rates. http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/homicide/race.cfm

[Whovian]

52. Thanks for your racist views. Chance of going economics

or does the NRA talking points not allow that due to the fact that low earning white trash is one of their largest base of support.

[jody]

62. What a crock calling DoJ stats "racist views". Obama & Holder better clean up their act quickly. nt

[Recursion]

5. Being an island chain helps (nt)

[rDigital]

8. It's also a racially homogenous island with an authoritarian .gov. nt

[jody]

9. Not completely because Japan has Koreans who are routinely discriminated against. nt

[rDigital]

14. Ethnically not homogenous. Korea's suicide rate is an astounding 31.2 per 100k.

No guns there either.

[jody]

17. Agree cultures are so different that it's difficult for outsiders to understand. nt

[Whovian]

53. While your and Jody have a circle jerk celibrating the fact that two Eastern countries

end their own lives rather than walking into schools and killing children, there is still a problem here that concerns American gun control.

[rDigital]

63. I was just showing that your OP is misleading at best. Mental health is the real issue.

Gun Controllers are unfortunately trying to capitalize on a tragedy.

[baldguy]

18. Japan is a Constitutional Monarchy with a democratically-elected Parliament.

It's a govt that the victorious Western Democracies put in place after WWII. Not "authoritarian" in any way. Did you fail History in high school?

[rDigital]

26. No, did you? Forced confessions are the rule in Japan. Any .gov type can be Authoritarian.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/07/world/asia/07iht-japan.1.5596308.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

The law allows the police to detain suspects for up to 23 days without an indictment. Suspects have almost no contact with the outside world and are subject to constant interrogation, a practice that has long drawn criticism from organizations like the United Nations Human Rights Committee and Amnesty International.

Suspects come under strong pressure to plead guilty, on the premise that confessions are the first step toward rehabilitation.

The conviction rate in Japanese criminal cases - 99.8 percent - cannot be compared directly with those of other countries because there is no plea bargaining in Japan and prosecutors bring only those cases they are sure to win. But experts say that in court, where acquittals are considered harmful to the careers of prosecutors and judges alike, there is a presumption of guilt.

[baldguy]

44. You do realize that the int'l human rights orgs critical of Japan

Like Amnesty Intl and Human Rights Watch - are MORE critical of the US justice system? Or was that fact not included in the RW NRA talking points you're cribbing from?

[rDigital]

47. More insults and innuendo. Cool, we're done here. You can't just be civil.

Let me know when an American Citizen in the U.S. is locked up for 23 days and isolated without legal counsel,beaten and interrogated. Let me know when that becomes a regular thing in America.

Peace Out, baldguy.

[baldguy]

50. Exposing the source of your talking points is being uncivil?

But promoting laws which make the mass murder of children commonplace is perfectly acceptable?

That's kind of like saying Hitler must have been a nice guy because he loved his dogs.

[rDigital]

64. I love it. When you can't refute facts, you call them talking points. nt

[Heywood J]

72. OK.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_detainees_at_Guantanamo_Bay

[rDigital]

75. Tell it to Obama. nt

[Heywood J]

80. You demanded content.

When presented with it, you have none.

[Odin2005]

34. East Asian CULTURE is very collectivist and authoritarian.

The fact that Japan and Korea are democracies does not change that. Democracies can be authoritarian, too.

[white_wolf]

58. Collectivist, yes? Authoritarian no.

At least not anymore than most of the world. Japan isn't any less of a democracy than the U.S. I'm sorry, but I really don't like this idea of calling an entire culture authoritarian.

[FarCenter]

12. I've read that Japanese police visit every household annually and know who is in their precinct.

It's a more collective and orderly society.

[rDigital]

15. I think you meant to say its a more Authoritarian Society.

The Japanese do not enjoy the same constitutional protections as we do. Beatings and forced confessions by police are the norm.

[FarCenter]

19. It all goes back to rice farming

Success at farming rice requires exacting cooperation and diligent work by the community. So order must be maintained, either voluntarily through a collectivist concern for the community, or failing that, by coercion or ostracism.

[jody]

20. Excellent point. Our Constitution obligates government to protect certain rights against the tyranny

of a simple majority.

That fact should worry those who want to start repealing enumerated rights.

[Comrade Grumpy]

30. You apparently are not familiar with US police practices.

I don't know about Japanese constitutional protections, but I know how many people get killed by guns there.

[rDigital]

40. Bring some content next time. You have nothing. nt

[Heywood J]

73. OK.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodney_King
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amadou_Diallo_shooting
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abner_Louima

Abner Louima (b. 1966 in Thomassin, Haiti) is a Haitian who was assaulted, brutalized and forcibly sodomized with the handle of a bathroom plunger by New York City police officers after being arrested outside a Brooklyn nightclub in 1997.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonny_Gammage
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Aiyana_Jones
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Javier_Ovando
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Kelly_Thomas
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Davis_%28New_Orleans%29

How many more would you like?

[rDigital]

74. These are isolated an anecdotal, not institutionalized and normal like in Japan. nt

[Heywood J]

79. Like your equally anecdotal "because I say it is"? (NT)

[rDigital]

81. I provided articles. Also, google is your friend. nt

[Odin2005]

29. Japan is a homogenous and deeply authoritarian society.

Comparing them to the US is like comparing apples to oranges.

[DanTex]

39. How about Canada, UK, France, Germany, Australia, etc.?

It's not just Japan, it's every other industrialized democracy other than the US that has tighter gun laws and much less gun violence.

[Whovian]

59. +1000 but that's outside the NRA's talking points.

[toddaa]

78. "Deeply authoritarian" from a Western perspective

Eastern societies put a higher value on filial piety than individualism, which can translate into a perception of "deeply authoritarian" institutions from our perspective. But Japan also has some really bizarre subcultures that I think its not very simple to pigeonhole them that way. I think the only really valid criticism you can make about Japan is their extreme xenophobia.

As an aficionado of extreme music, only Japan can produce freak shows like Sigh, the Incapacitants, or my personal favorite, Flagitious Idiosyncrasy in the Dilapidation.

That's not exactly the product of one dimensional, deeply authoritarian culture.

[hack89]

35. You would not want their justice system

the police have the power to interrogate you in isolation for weeks and even months with no access to a lawyer. They always get a confession. Which is why their conviction rate is nearly 100%.

[liberalhistorian]

49. There's a fundamental problem, however.

Japan is a much more homogenous, conformist society than we are. What works for that particular culture simply will not work for ours. Also, the role of shame and "face" in that culture is one hundred times stronger than it is in ours, particularly since gun ownership is seen as such a reason for pride, no matter who it hurts or whose life it takes. We need to come up with something else. Something along the lines of what MADD did to cut down on drunk driving deaths. It didn't just work to enact and strengthen laws; it didn't work to take away cars or prevent drinking. While it did work on laws, it also worked on the culture, a culture that hadn't previously seen drinking and driving, and the resulting deaths and injuries, as much of a problem. In fact, it was seen as a matter of "freedom", the same way gun ownership no matter what and no matter who is now.

What MADD did was work on changing that culture, showing the very real damage and death that resulted from such "freedom" and how freedom didn't include taking the lives of others by your choice to exercise your "freedom" and get behind the wheel drunk. You cannot ban cars and drinking, just like you can't ban guns. But you can strengthen and enforce laws and you can change the culture.

So, by now, there's been a total reversal of previous attitudes, and we now understand that freedom to drink and drive brings death and destruction to innocent others. While it certainly didn't prevent all drunk driving deaths (nothing will, you will never totally prevent something, period), and there will always be those who will do so regardless of the cost to others and sometimes even themselves, it certainly did cut down drastically on the number of DUI deaths and injuries AND turned it into a social stigma to do so. THAT, my friends, is what needs to be done with this issue here. I don't know exactly how, but we need a MADD-like organization to start working on it.

[white_wolf]

57. The Yakuza point is interesting.

It works against the argument that if you outlaw guns criminals will still have them.

[HiPointDem]

66. I think this uncontextualized kind of factoid doesn't promote understanding. Yakuza are kind of

different from what we think of in the US as a 'gang' -- even different from mafia.

The Anti-Yakuza Law constrains and obstructs the yakuza, but does not ban them altogether. Yakuza membership is still not illegal. Unlike Sicilian mafia bosses and Mexican drug lords, yakuza bosses are not fugitives from the law. The addresses and telephone numbers of the major gang headquarters are publicly available. Underworld gossip is reported and analyzed in the popular Japanese press in much the same way as showbiz gossip. The legitimate status of Japan’s organized crime gangs continues to be one of their most distinctive features.

This legitimacy, together with some of the well-known peculiarities of yakuza culture, has earned the yakuza a high degree of international recognition that is arguably disproportionate to the scale of their activities today... A recent study of transnational organized crime devotes a chapter each to the Columbian drug cartels, the Italian Mafia, the Russian Mob, the Japanese yakuza, and the Chinese triads.10

But another distinctive feature of the yakuza is their insularity. Unlike those other organizations the yakuza have not established vast transnational criminal networks; they do not export drugs to the world, or sell weapons to terrorist groups, or threaten national security with anarchic violence. Though they have adjusted their methods and operations with great inventiveness over the decades, essentially the yakuza remain localized extortionists and enforcers, their rackets confined almost entirely to Japan.

http://www.japanfocus.org/-Andrew-Rankin/3688

[white_wolf]

82. Thank you for the link.

I was very interesting. I always assumed the Yakuza was treated the same way the American Mafia was. It seems I was wrong.

[HiPointDem]

65. this is the kind of uncontextualized article that creates a misleading impression. it's true

japan's gun laws are tough. however, the reasons for their low murder (& other crime) rates lie elsewhere.

[Flatpicker]

67. I get all that

The question becomes how do you take a society with a different set of social morays use it's rules on the US?

Look at Japan, and admit that their social mindset towards authority is much different than the US mindset.
The ends may be the same, but we have to use differing means to get there.

[slackmaster]

83. Handguns are forbidden absolutely, except for handguns in the hands of Japanese police officers

And US military police.

And Japanese criminals.