‘Regulations Don’t Work’? Japan Has Strict 12-Step Gun Buying Process, One Gun Death Last Year
© AP Photo / Ed Andrieski
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Japan has some of the world’s strictest gun ownership laws, making the Friday assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe by a gunman using a homemade gun all the more exceptional. However, Much ado has been made in right-wing US circles as pro-gun advocates seize the incident to show the seeming futility of regulating firearms.
When alleged gunman Tetsuya Yamagami fired two shots at Abe on a Nara street on Friday as the former leader gave a stump speech for a candidate for his Liberal Democratic Party, it was likely the first time most of the crowd had heard a gun fired. That’s because the East Asian country has some of the world’s most stringent requirements for gun ownership anywhere in the world, and as a consequence, gun violence is almost unknown.
In a 2019 New York Times article listing the gun purchasing process for 16 different nations, Japan’s was by far the longest. That list has 12 steps:
1.
Attend an all-day class on firearms and pass a written exam, which is held three times a year.2.
Undergo a mental health evaluation and drug test and obtain a doctor’s note vouching for your fitness to own a gun.3.
Apply for a permit to schedule a training course on firing a weapon.4.
Describe in detail in a police interview why you need a gun.5.
Pass a review of your criminal record, personal debt, relationships with family and friends, and any potential connections to organized crime.6.
Apply for a permit to own gunpowder.7.
Take your one-day training class and pass a marksmanship test at the shooting range with 95% accuracy. This must be repeated every three years.8.
Obtain a certificate from a gun dealer describing the gun you wish to purchase.9.
Buy a certified gun safe and a separate ammunition locker.10.
Get police to inspect and certify the safe and locker. This must be repeated every year.11.
Pass another background review.12.
Buy a gun. You are only permitted to own one; having more than one can be punished with up to 15 years in prison.After all that, the only guns available for purchase are shotguns and air rifles for hunting - no assault rifles, no semi-automatic weapons, and no handguns.
Because of this rigorous permit system, just 192,000 people out of a country of 125 million have such permits.
In addition, there are steep punishments for inappropriate use of the gun. Firing it in a public space can net you a life sentence in prison while having a gun and being part of an organized crime syndicate can put you in prison for 15 years.
In 2021, there were just 10 criminal gun-related incidents in Japan, eight of which involved criminal gangs and only one of which resulted in someone’s death.
