This includes an initial training program, medical and mental health examinations, background checks by police on you, and questions to the neighbors about what kind of person you are. Within this, it is possible to get a license for a hunting shotgun, if you are willing to go through the extensive application process. Actually firing an illegal weapon can lead to a prison term of three years to life. Possession of a firearm can lead to imprisonment of up to 10 years, and penalties are higher if ammunition is also found. Most types of guns are completely banned, to the extent that even organized crime groups avoid having them. In the United States, there were 19,384 homicides by firearms in 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Įven getting a gun is nearly impossible in Japan, which is likely why Abe’s assailant had to fashion one of his own. Japan’s National Police Agency reported 10 gun incidents last year, resulting in four injuries and one death. In relation to firearms, the numbers are even lower. In international rankings, Japan is typically among the bottom ten countries in terms of its overall crime rate. The image of Japan as a safe country with few guns is a source of pride for people here. This is a symbolic event of unilateral change of the status quo by force, and the world’s freedom, human rights, and democracy are crumbling with a clatter,” Japanese journalist Ryusho Kadota wrote on Twitter. But among the many immediate questions was how an amateur gunman with a grudge could get close enough behind Abe during his speech in a public plaza to fire with such deadly accuracy. Despite Kishida’s warnings of a possible political aspect to the crime, the assailant said that his anger with Abe was not over his political views.Īny comments from the assailant should of course be taken with considerable skepticism, and one Japanese report quoted prosecutors as saying some comments were incoherent. ![]() He told police that he had intended to kill Abe and that he believed Abe had ties to an unidentified religious group. His assailant, a 41-year-old male resident of the area, was immediately apprehended and offered little resistance. ![]() I condemn this act with the strongest words.” Kishida said that the government could not be intimidated by what he called “violence and acts of terror.”Ībe was shot twice at close range from the back with a crudely fashioned homemade gun. ![]() This is a heinous act and is in no way excusable. His life was taken amid the election campaign. “Elections are the backbone of democracy. ![]() “I am speechless,” a visibly upset Kishida told reporters. Sitting Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and other political leaders painted the shooting as an assault on the democratic system. “How could this happen in Japan?” was a common and yet unanswerable question in the media and in conversation as the news unfolded of the attack, which came at an outdoor campaign speech for a local candidate in the upcoming parliamentary elections. That makes the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday even more shocking to people here. TOKYO-Japan is one of the safest places on Earth.
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