Gun Use Invades Japanese Serenity

Although Japan has some of the developed world's strictest gun regulations, guns play a significant role in the country's rising rate of violent crime, the Washington Post reported Aug. 10.

According to the National Police Agency, the number of serious crimes committed with handguns in Japan last year was the highest since the agency began keeping statistics more than a decade ago. Furthermore, the rate of gun crimes in the first six months of 2000 is on pace to surpass last year's record.

"I think the public believes it is safe in Japan," said Koichi Sunada, head of a citizens' anti-gun group in Tokyo. "But the situation is changing."

While police say most gun crimes involve yakuza, or mafia members, guns are getting into the hands of the general public, too. "Since 1994 or 1995, there's been a clear change; the guns are now becoming dispersed in the population," said Hiroyuki Fujimura, a senior superintendent in the Firearms Division of the National Police Agency.

Fujimura said a rise in the number of robberies has contributed to the increase in handgun crimes. "We are worried about it. Crimes are becoming more violent, more serious. And handguns are very efficient weapons for that," he said.

Under Japan's gun-control laws, possession of a handgun and one bullet carries a prison term of three to 15 years. Only soldiers and police officers are allowed to carry handguns legally. Hunting rifles are allowed, but only after a buyer undergoes a lengthy waiting period and a police investigation.