How Japan's record on gun violence compares with other G7 nations

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The assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe shocked the nation of 125 million people where gun violence is very rare compared with other G7 nations.

Japan has some of the most stringent gun laws in the democratic world, with strict regulations in place when it comes to owning guns. According to Small Arms Survey, an independent research firm based in Geneva, Japan is also one of few countries where civilian gun ownership has been on a decline, in a world where the total number of civilian firearms appears to be going up, according to latest available data from 2017.

Japan’s firearm and sword law was enacted in 1958 and was revised a number of times, the latest revision being in 2008.

In Japan, as per regulations, civilians are not allowed to possess handguns, military rifles, machine guns, large-calibre guns, imitation firearms, as well as hunting guns, and certain air guns without specific approval.

As per the law, specific gun types such as shotguns, air guns, guns for research/industrial purposes, or guns for competitions are allowed. However, even possession of these is only granted after rigorous scrutiny such as drug tests, written tests, and background checks.

On possession, owners are required to provide additional information on how they plan on storing the firearm and have their firearm annually inspected. Gun owners in the country must re-apply and re-qualify for their firearm license every three years, according to the law and state agencies are required to maintain records of storage and movement of all firearms under their control. The maximum penalty for unlawful possession of a firearm in the country is punishable with 15 years in prison.

A firearm in plain view in a public place has long been prohibited in Japan but carrying a concealed firearm in a public place is allowed, provided it has a valid permit. The minimum age for gun ownership in Japan is 18 years.

GUN OWNERSHIP IN JAPAN COMPARED TO G7

In comparison to other G7 nations, Japan has highly restrictive firearm regulations and a very low gun death rate. Close to about two-thirds of all gun crimes are committed by organized crime groups.

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Ranked second amongst the G7, Canada, in comparison to Japan, has relatively high gun ownership at about 34.7 firearms per hundred residents, according to data from gunpolicy.org.

JAPAN HAS CLOSE TO ZERO GUN DEATHS

The data from gunpolicy.org shows that in a country of 125 million people, fewer than 10 people annually die from gun violence, largely because other than the police and the military, no one in Japan can legally purchase a handgun or a rifle.

This is less than a fraction of the gun violence deaths that occur in other G7 countries.

When looking at gun policies, another important metric to examine is the suicide rate in relation to guns, according to Dr. Mohsen Naghavi, a professor of Health Metrics Sciences at the University of Washington. He told CTVNews.ca in a Zoom interview on Friday that suicide metrics show how accessible firearms are to the general public.

In Japan, due to the stringent rules and regulations, it is difficult to possess a firearm. Even though suicide in Japan is relatively high, gun-related suicides are close to negligible, Naghavi added.

Naghavi said another important metric is to determine what type of gun is accessible to the general public. He said Canada has many hunting guns, but in the U.S., there are fewer in comparison (per capita) and automatic gun and handgun use is high.

Annual handgun homicides in Japan totalled 11, a very small fraction, compared to the U.S. (6,368) and Canada (143) in 2013— the most recent year available on gunpolicy.org.

According to a 2022 report from the University of Washington, the U.S. has always been a clear outlier when it came to deaths from gun violence. The report showed that while the U.S. had more than four firearm homicides per 100,000 people in 2019, Japan had close to zero.

Compared to the rest of the G7 countries, the rate of gun-related deaths per 100,000 people is the highest in the U.S. at 12.09 with Japan recording the lowest of 0.01 in 2019.