12/29/2012

Gun ownership in Japan

Despite the popular conception, guns are not entirely banned in Japan.

Labels: ,

posted by John Lott at 12:07 AM

9 Comments:

Blogger Chas said...

The Wikipedia article on the Yakuza is interesting.
The Japanese organized crime gangs have all the guns they want, while law-abiding Japanese citizens have been disarmed. The result is that the corruption of organized crime pervades the entire country, and to the point that even the Japanese government is powerless to move against it. Of course, the defenseless citizens are utterly at the mercy of the numerous organized crime gangs. Not unlike Chicago and D.C.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakuza

12/30/2012 7:18 AM  
Blogger Martin G. Schalz said...

Chas is correct. In this case, the "losers" do have all the guns and everyone else does not.

1/02/2013 11:26 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

First off dumbass, the Yakuza use their guns so rarely, that it doesn't matter. They don't go around killing innocent people like gangs in places like Mexico do. Second off, the Yakuza are in decline. Their numbers are decreasing. Third off, 90% of the guns owned by the Yakuza are pistols. Gangs in the US have AK-47s, M16s, Uzis.

9/01/2013 3:04 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

First off, the Yakuza use their guns so rarely, that it doesn't matter. They don't go around killing innocent people like gangs in places like Mexico do. Second off, the Yakuza are in decline. Their numbers are decreasing. Third off, 90% of the guns owned by the Yakuza are pistols. Gangs in the US have AK-47s, M16s, Uzis. I lived in Japan for a year. I know this stuff.

9/01/2013 3:07 AM  
Blogger John Lott said...

Dear Tom:
To the extent that the guns owned by gangs in the US are "AK-47s, M16s, Uzis," they are civilian versions of those guns, not machine guns. That is they are semi-automatic versions of the guns. If they did get ahold of machine guns, it isn't because they are getting them in the United States. Mexican gangs have machine guns, but they aren't getting them from the US.

9/01/2013 3:58 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

I know that the guns used in the Mexican drug war aren't from the US. They're from places like Colombia and Eastern Europe, all over the world. That's not the point. Comparing the Yakuza to drug cartels in Mexico that actually do kill innocent people is not accurate. After earthquake in Japan in 2011, the Yakuza were handing out blankets, food and water. The Yakuza don't go around killing innocent people. They keep to themselves. They hide in the shadows. Japan is one of the safest countries in world. Both in murder rate, and gun death rate.

9/01/2013 7:12 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Chas, have you ever lived in Japan? If not, you don't know anything about Japanese society. The Yakuza have a code of honor. Which involves not killing civilians. The Japanese government is not "powerless" to move against it. The Yakuza are slowly dying out because of laws by the Japanese government. Japan is a rich first world country. Not like Mexico where the government truly is powerless. You claim you know things about places you've never stepped foot on. Japan is 200 times safer than America or any other place will ever be. The Yakuza don't use their guns on law abiding citizens. On the rare occasion that they do use their guns, they use them on rival gang members.

9/11/2013 9:44 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

If Japanese citizens are so "defenseless" why is that there are only about 40 muggings per year in Tokyo? In Chicago there are more than 10,000. Comparing Japan to Chicago is laughable. Maybe you should do some more research on Japanese society before you make idiotic comparisons.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/01/06/national/even-gangsters-live-in-fear-of-japans-gun-laws/#.UjEcyGTErAE

9/11/2013 9:51 PM  
Blogger John Lott said...

Dear Tom:
The important question is how crime rates changed before and after a change in laws. The problem here is that guns in Japan have been strictly regulations for centuries. Here are the problems with cross-sectional comparisons.
http://johnrlott.blogspot.com/2013/01/so-what-can-us-learn-from-other.html
Here is a preferable approach.
http://johnrlott.blogspot.com/2012/12/so-did-piers-morgan-and-christiane.html

9/12/2013 2:16 AM  

Post a Comment

<< Home