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Associated Press

The assassination of former prime minister Shinzo Abe in broad daylight Friday shocked a world that has come to associate Japan with relatively low crime and strict gun control.
Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, Abe was shot in the back while campaigning in the city of Nara for parliamentary candidates. He died at a hospital, two days before the election.
The suspect apparently circumvented the nation’s ultra-tight gun regulations by building his own weapon. Police said the 40cm (15-inch) device was obviously home-made, and one expert compared it to a muzzleloading gun.
Authorities confiscated similar weapons when they raided the suspect’s nearby one-room apartment.

Strange looking weapon pic.twitter.com/P08QeX65Ie
— Adam Taylor (@mradamtaylor) July 8, 2022

The motive of the man, who was taken into custody at the scene, remained unclear.
Fatal gun violence is virtually unheard of in Japan, and most Japanese go through life without ever handling, or even seeing, a real gun. Stabbings are more common in killings.
Major universities have rifle clubs, and Japanese police are armed, but gun ownership rights have been a distant issue for decades. Even police rarely resort to firing their pistols.
With a population of 125 million, the country had just 10 gun-related criminal cases last year, resulting in a single death and four injuries, according to police. Eight of those cases were gang-related.
Shinzo Abe shooting: what’s known about the attacker
The densely populated capital of Tokyo had zero gun incidents, injuries or deaths during that same year, although 61 guns were seized there.
“Japanese people are in a state of shock,” said Shiro Kawamoto, professor at the College of Risk Management at Nihon University in Tokyo.
“This serves as a wake-up call that gun violence can happen in Japan, and security to protect Japanese politicians must be re-examined,” Kawamoto said. “To assume this kind of attack will never happen would be a big mistake.”
Abe’s security team may face serious questions. But because such attacks are extraordinary in Japan, relatively light security is the norm, even for former prime ministers.


The last high-profile shooting occurred in 2019, when a former gang member was shot at a karaoke venue in Tokyo.
Under Japanese law, possession of firearms is illegal without a special licence. Importing them is also illegal. The same rules apply to some kinds of knives and certain other weapons, like crossbows.
People who wish to own firearms must go through a stringent background check, including clearance by a doctor, and declare information about family members.
They must also pass tests to show they know how to use guns correctly. Those who pass and purchase a weapon must also buy a special locking system for it at the same time.
Shinzo Abe: the force behind Japan’s policies on China, defence, economy
Passing those hurdles will allow a licence holder to shoot at clay targets. Hunting requires an additional licence.
The weapon used in the attack on Abe was probably a “craft-made” firearm, according to N.R. Jenzen-Jones, the director of Armament Research Services, a specialist arms investigations firm.
He compared the weapon to a musket in which the gunpowder is loaded separately from the bullet.
“Firearms legislation in Japan is very restrictive, so I think what we’re seeing here, with what’s probably a muzzleloading weapon, is not just an attempt to circumvent the control of firearms, but also the strict control of ammunition in Japan,” he said.


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Shinzo Abe

How Shinzo Abe’s killer thwarted Japan’s strict gun laws

Tetsuya Yamagami, who is accused of assassinating former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, is detained near the site of gunshots in Nara on Friday. Photo: Kyodo News via AP

Shinzo Abe: a political titan who shaped Japan’s policies on China, defence, economy

Former PM Shinzo Abe. Photo: Kay Nietfeld/dpa

Former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe. File photo: dpa

Japan’s former PM Shinzo Abe with Indian PM Narendra Modi in New Delhi. File photo: AFP 

A Chinese maritime surveillance vessel passes near the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. File photo: Kyodo

People in Tokyo look at a TV news report about the attack on former Shinzo Abe on July 8, 2022. Photo: AFP 

World leaders from China to Singapore and Australia stunned by death of Japan’s Shinzo Abe

An image of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo, after he was shot and killed in the city of Nara. Photo: AFP

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern reacts to the news of the death of Shinzo Abe. Photo: dpa

Japan’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe dies after attack by gunman

People place flowers at the scene in Nara where Shinzo Abe was shot. Photo: AFP 

Japan’s current defence minister, Nobuo Kishi, is Abe’s younger brother. Photo: EPA-EFE

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Asia

East Asia

In a nation where fatal shootings are almost unheard of, the suspect apparently circumvented ultra-tight firearms restrictions by building his own weapon
One expert compared it to a muzzleloading gun, where gunpowder is loaded separately from the bullet – a possible way to get around ammunition controls


In a nation where fatal shootings are almost unheard of, the suspect apparently circumvented ultra-tight firearms restrictions by building his own weapon.


Japan