Gun Control in Japan

Japan has what many consider to be the world's strictest gun control laws, and the idea is often put forward that the Japanese gun control laws should serve as model for other nations. However, although gun related crimes in Japan are lower per-capita than elsewhere, such reasoning ignores many other factors, which at the end of the day makes for an unpersuasive argument.

Many people cite the Japanese example, without understanding exactly what the law is, how it is implemented and enforced, as well as the culture within the country itself towards both gun ownership and authority. Although crime figures, especially gun-related crimes, are lower in Japan than many other places, it comes at a cost to the civilian population. This cost can be broadly summarised as a combination between increased police monitoring and reduced civil liberties.

In January 2008, then-Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda of Japan's ruling conservative LDP, in response to an increase in violent crimes committed by minors and organised crime (bouryokudan 暴力団), called for an amendment to the constitution, to allow for even tighter firearms control measures.

Extensive police authority is one reason the Japanese gun control system works. Another reason is that Japan has no cultural history of gun ownership by citizens.

Gun Control and Crime

The Firearms Act opens by stating "No-one shall possess a fire-arm or fire-arms or a sword or swords" and there are very few exceptions to this rule. The only firearm a Japanese citizen may own is a rifle or shotgun. Sportsmen are permitted to possess shotguns or rifles for hunting (hunting licenses are valid for 3 years) and for skeet and trap shooting, but only after a lengthy licensing procedure. Without a license, a person may not even hold a gun in their hands.

This has resulted in a tiny proportion of citizens owning guns privately (approximately 150 000 licenses in a population of 100 million ). However, gun-related crimes in Japan are also infrequent.

Licensing

The licensing procedure is thorough and strenuous. Any prospective gun owner has to first attend classes and pass a written exam. This is followed by classes held on a shooting range and a shooting test. 95% of applicants usually pass.

Even if they pass the safety exam, applicants then undertake a simple "mental aptitude test" at a local hospital, which ensures that the applicant is not suffering from any readily detectable mental illness. The applicant then provides the police with a medical certificate attesting that they are is mentally sound and not addicted to drugs. The total cost of the procedure is some ￥15000 ($150), with an additional ￥17000 ($170) for a 3-month hunting license.

Comparison of Gun Crime Statistics Worldwide

• Source: W. Cukier, Firearms Regulation: Canada in the International Context, Chronic Diseases in Canada, April, 1998 (These statistics updated to reflect most recent figures, as at January 2001) . Only the top and bottom five countries, with available information, are shown, out of a total of 25 countries on the list.

Country	Owners licensed?	Firearms registered?	Other	% Households with Firearms	Gun Homicides per 100 000	Gun Suicide per 100 000	Intentional Gun Deaths per 100 000
Japan	Yes	Yes	Prohibits handguns with few exceptions	0.60	0.03	0.04	0.07
Singapore	Yes	Yes	Most handguns and rifles prohibited	0.01	0.07	0.17	0.24
England and Wales	Yes	Yes	Prohibits handguns	4.00	0.07	0.33	0.40
Scotland	Yes	Yes	Prohibits handguns	4.00	0.19	0.30	0.49
Netherlands	Yes	Yes		1.90	0.27	0.28	0.55
Northern Ireland	Yes	Yes	Prohibits handguns	8.40	3.55	1.18	4.73
France	Yes	Yes, except sporting rifles		22.60	0.55	4.93	5.48
Switzerland	Yes	Yes		27.20	0.46	5.74	6.20
Finland	Yes	Yes	No prohibitions	50.00	0.87	5.78	6.55
U.S.A.	In some states	Handguns, in some states	Some weapons in some states	41.00	6.24	7.23	13.47

Enforcing the Law

Stop, Search and Seize

In legal terms, illegal gun possession, much like the possession of illegal drugs, is a "consensual offense", as there is no "victim" involved who would lodge a complaint with the police. Japanese police have wide-ranging search-and-seizure powers in order to find illegal weapons. The Firearms Act permits a policeman to stop and search anybody, if the officer feels that there is "sufficient suspicion that a person is carrying a fire-arm, a sword or a knife," or if he feels that somebody "is likely to endanger life or body of other persons judging reasonably from his abnormal behavior or any other surrounding circumstances." If a weapon is found, the policeman may confiscate it and even if the confiscation is later found to be in error, the confiscated firearm is sometimes not returned.

Ironically, the law allowing for special weapons searches is almost redundant, as routine searches by the police are commonplace. They can stop anybody they deem to look suspicious and ask them to show the contents of their purse, case or bag. Technically, citizens are not obligated to show the policeman what is in their bag, but given the Japanese culture of deferring to authority, plus the fact that a refusal could result in the citizen being taken in for further questioning, few refuse. Even if a policeman's search does discover a gun or any other illegal substance and the search is subsequently ruled illegal, it makes no difference to the case, as Japanese courts permit the use of illegally seized evidence.

House Visits

One of the most important duties carried out by the police is the so-called "home visit." Twice a year, "residence information cards" are filled in by police officers during door-to-door visits of each household within their precinct. These cards contain information about who lives in the house and which family member to contact in case of emergency, the relationship between the various occupants of the house, their occupations, working hours, and even the make of car they own. As part of the home visits, all gun licensees are checked, to ensure that their gun has not been stolen or misused, that it is securely stored as per regulations, and that the licensees are emotionally stable.

However, police surveillance goes beyond house visits and checking up on license owners. Japanese police have a long-standing tradition of keeping tabs on the local populace and monitoring every aspect of life (a fact which came to light with the inclusion of such statistics as the disturbing "Background and Motives for Girls' Sexual Misconduct" in the the nation's official year-end police report. Virtually every citizen is the subject of a police dossier of one form or another.

Police State?

Virtually all Japanese citizens believe that the police should be respected and not questioned. Due to the esteem in which the police are held, the Japanese people willingly co-operate with them, and this co-operation also extends to obeying the laws which almost everyone believes in. The Japanese people, and even the large majority of Japanese criminals, voluntarily obey the gun control laws.

This is despite the fact that as well as not having the right to bear arms, citizens also have no right to privacy against police searches and many other rights are so restricted that Japan could easily be called a "police state."

If an individual is arrested, whatever the crime, the suspect may be detained - without bail - for a maximum of 28 days, before the prosecutor brings the suspect before a judge. Bail can be denied if there is reason to believe it could interfere with the police's interrogation of the defendant.

Even if the initial 28 day detention period has expired, detention in a Japanese police station often continues, based on numerous pretexts, such as preventing the defendant from destroying evidence. Another common tactic is to re-arrest the suspect on another charge, called bekken taihou (別件大法; literally, "separate case, basic law"), which means a fresh 28-day detention period under interrogation. This "rearrest" often occurs whilst the suspect is still being held on the first charge. Some defendants may be held for several months without ever being brought before a judge. The courts approve around 99.5% of prosecutors' requests for extended detentions.

During a suspect's detention, he may only receive visits from his criminal defense lawyer, and these meetings are strictly limited to 15 minutes at a time and between 1 to 5 visits, depending on the length of the detention. These visits can even be denied if they hamper the police investigation. During the same time, police can interrogate the suspect for up to 12 hours a day and complaints of abuse and torture are rife. Amnesty International have called the Japanese police custody system a "flagrant violation of United Nations human rights principles".

The Japanese legal system can best be described as "an omnipotent and unitary state authority." As all the law enforcement administrators in Japan are appointed and funded by the National Police Agency, the police are effectively protected from complaints from politicians or citizens. There only check on the State's power is its own conscience.

These excessive police powers have a significant impact on the implementation of gun controls. The Japanese gun control laws exist within a society that currently has little need for guns for self-defense purposes. The powers of the Police make owning and hiding an illegal weapon extremely difficult. Add to that a criminal justice system based on a Government which possesses the seemingly inherent authority to do as it pleases, and it results in a society where almost everyone accepts nearly limitless, unchecked Government power, and people do not wish to own guns, even to resist oppression or to protect themselves should the criminal justice system ever break down.