Changes

===Is Japan Safe?===

===Is Japan Safe?===

There is no mandatory minimum penalty for unlicensed firearm possession. Some 81% of convictions for illegal firearm or sword possession usually result in sentences of a year or more, possibly due to the fact that the majority of gun-related crimes are committed by gangsters. The maximum penalty is ten years in prison and a one million yen ($10000) fine.

There is no mandatory minimum penalty for unlicensed firearm possession. Some 81% of convictions for illegal firearm or sword possession usually result in sentences of a year or more, possibly due to the fact that the majority of gun-related crimes are committed by gangsters. The maximum penalty is ten years in prison and a one million yen ($10,000) fine.

Gun-related crimes do exist, but in very low numbers. There were only 30 reported crimes committed in 1989, using shotguns or air rifles.<ref>White Paper on Police 1990, Page 80</ref> Most violent crimes perpetrated with a handgun, are committed by members of the ''Bouryokudan'', although must gun-related crimes that come to trial involve unlicensed possession, and not the commission of another crime. Including the possession cases, there are about 600 handgun crimes a year and 900 long gun crimes.<ref>D Bayley; Forces of Order: Police Behavior in Japan and the United States; University of California Press; 1976; p 168</ref>

Gun-related crimes do exist, but in very low numbers. There were only 30 reported crimes committed in 1989, using shotguns or air rifles.<ref>White Paper on Police 1990, Page 80</ref> Most violent crimes perpetrated with a handgun, are committed by members of the ''Bouryokudan'', although must gun-related crimes that come to trial involve unlicensed possession, and not the commission of another crime. Including the possession cases, there are about 600 handgun crimes a year and 900 long gun crimes.<ref>D Bayley; Forces of Order: Police Behavior in Japan and the United States; University of California Press; 1976; p 168</ref>