Posted on Jul 9, 2022
Abe's assassination shocks Japan, where gun control is strict and shootings are rare
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https://www.npr.org/2022/07/08/ [login to see] /abe-assassination-gun-laws-violence-japan
The assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is sending shockwaves around the world and especially through Japan, a country where gun regulations are strict and shootings are exceedingly rare.
Abe, who resigned due to health issues in 2020, was fatally shot in broad daylight on Friday while speaking at a campaign rally in the city of Nara. The police detained a suspect and retrieved a gun at the scene that appears to be homemade, broadcaster NHK reports.
Rates of gun ownership and gun violence in Japan are among the lowest in the world, and stand in stark contrast to those of the U.S.
For example: Just one person was killed by gun violence in Japan in 2021, according to the country's National Police Agency. The Gun Violence Archive recorded 45,034 U.S. firearm deaths that same year.
The assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is sending shockwaves around the world and especially through Japan, a country where gun regulations are strict and shootings are exceedingly rare.
Abe, who resigned due to health issues in 2020, was fatally shot in broad daylight on Friday while speaking at a campaign rally in the city of Nara. The police detained a suspect and retrieved a gun at the scene that appears to be homemade, broadcaster NHK reports.
Rates of gun ownership and gun violence in Japan are among the lowest in the world, and stand in stark contrast to those of the U.S.
For example: Just one person was killed by gun violence in Japan in 2021, according to the country's National Police Agency. The Gun Violence Archive recorded 45,034 U.S. firearm deaths that same year.
Abe's assassination shocks Japan, where gun control is strict and shootings are rare
Posted from npr.orgPosted in these groups: 
Japan
Firearms and Guns
Japan Firearms and Guns
Posted 2 y ago
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They had one gun related death in 2021. They shouldn't take any advice or comments from the USA on this one.
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Violent incidents in Japan are rare but not unprecedented
There have been several mass killings in Japan in recent years, but most did not involve guns. Those include a 2008 stabbing rampage that killed seven people in Tokyo, a knife attack that killed 19 people at an assisted care facility in 2016 and a 2019 arson attack on an animation studio that killed 34.
Political violence is rare in postwar Japan, though there have been some high-profile incidents over the course of the last century, as Reuters notes.
Among them: The head of the Japan Socialist Party was killed during a 1960 speech by a right-wing youth with a samurai short sword, and a yakuza gangster fatally shot the mayor of Nagasaki in 2007. Two prime ministers and one deputy prime minister survived either attacks or shootings in 1975, 1992 and 1994 respectively, reports the Japan Times.
The last time a Japanese prime minister was assassinated was in 1932, when Inukai Tsuyoshi was shot in a coup d'état by ultranationalist naval officers in what is now called "the May 15th incident."
Abe's own grandfather, who served as prime minister from 1957 to 1960, survived an assassination attempt at the end of his tenure. Nobusuke Kishi was stabbed in the thigh and severely injured during a reception at the Prime Minister's Office.
Abe himself also had been the target of an arson attack earlier in his political career. Members of a yakuza group threw Molotov cocktails into his home and supporters' office on several occasions in 2000."
..."Violent incidents in Japan are rare but not unprecedented
There have been several mass killings in Japan in recent years, but most did not involve guns. Those include a 2008 stabbing rampage that killed seven people in Tokyo, a knife attack that killed 19 people at an assisted care facility in 2016 and a 2019 arson attack on an animation studio that killed 34.
Political violence is rare in postwar Japan, though there have been some high-profile incidents over the course of the last century, as Reuters notes.
Among them: The head of the Japan Socialist Party was killed during a 1960 speech by a right-wing youth with a samurai short sword, and a yakuza gangster fatally shot the mayor of Nagasaki in 2007. Two prime ministers and one deputy prime minister survived either attacks or shootings in 1975, 1992 and 1994 respectively, reports the Japan Times.
The last time a Japanese prime minister was assassinated was in 1932, when Inukai Tsuyoshi was shot in a coup d'état by ultranationalist naval officers in what is now called "the May 15th incident."
Abe's own grandfather, who served as prime minister from 1957 to 1960, survived an assassination attempt at the end of his tenure. Nobusuke Kishi was stabbed in the thigh and severely injured during a reception at the Prime Minister's Office.
Abe himself also had been the target of an arson attack earlier in his political career. Members of a yakuza group threw Molotov cocktails into his home and supporters' office on several occasions in 2000."
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