How are firearms regulated in Japan? By Kathleen Benoza

How are firearms regulated in Japan? By Kathleen Benoza — Read time: 4 minutes

Police officers stand guard near the site of a shooting in the city of Nakano, Nagano Prefecture, on Sunday. | KYODO

Japan is said to be one of the safest countries in the world, with strict gun-control laws. But last week, a shooting in which a 31-year-old man killed two police officers and two women in Nagano Prefecture dominated the news, prompting questions about how strict gun laws actually are in the country.

In the Nagano shooting, the man had firearm licenses — obtained between 2015 and 2019 — that enabled him to possess four guns, including a rifle and a shotgun. There have been no reports of the suspect having a mental illness, which would have prevented him from getting the licenses.

According to the National Police Agency, there were nine incidents involving guns last year, in which four people died and two were injured. Of the nine, six cases appeared to be associated with organized crime syndicates.

Shootings have hovered between 10 to 50 cases annually in the past decade or so, with most having been linked to organized crime groups. According to World Population Review, Japan has seen 0.08 gun deaths per 100,000 people so far in 2023. In contrast, in the United States, where mass shootings have also made headlines recently, the number of deaths stood at 10.89.

The relative scarcity of gun-use and gun-related incidents in Japan is an indication of how strict the country’s gun control laws are. Here’s a closer look at how firearms are regulated in Japan.

Who can own a gun in Japan?

Japan’s domestic law basically bans citizens from possessing, carrying, buying and selling firearms, as well as importing gun parts unless they have a gun license.

Those age 20 or above who want to possess a gun need to go through a lengthy screening process by the local public security committee, which is the governing body for the prefectural police force.

The individual needs to take a written test and conduct shooting practice as well as pass a shooting test before they can apply for a screening process. The entire procedure costs about ¥60,000.

The screening process involves strict background checks by the police — which include a review of their criminal record, personal relationships and involvement in organized crime — along with psychiatric and drug tests at hospitals. Gun owners are required to renew their licenses every three years.

Even after one obtains a gun, police must inspect the firearm once a year and the owner must register it with police along with details of where the weapon and ammunition are stored.

How many actually own firearms in Japan?

The number of licensed firearms in 2021 was at 177,719, most of them for hunting, according to the police agency’s latest data. In the same year, 87,973 people had permits to possess hunting rifles and air guns.

In 2017, Japan had around 209,000 licensed hunters, compared to about 530,000 in 1970, according to the Japan Hunters Association.

Why does Japan have such strict gun control laws?

The Allied Forces ordered Japan to collect and hand over all guns and swords that were owned by the general public soon after Japan surrendered in World War II.

As per orders from the Allied Occupation forces, the Japanese government then issued an ordinance in 1946 banning citizens from possessing firearms or swords.

This was revised in 1950 and was later replaced with the Firearm and Sword Control Law in 1958. Subsequently, the law has been revised numerous times, often after gun-related incidents or heightened tensions among gangsters.

More recently, the law was revised in 2008 obliging applicants seeking to possess firearms to get clearance from a psychiatrist after a 2007 shooting in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, in which a man killed two and injured six more. The suspect killed himself with a shotgun the following day.

What other shootings have happened recently?

The murder of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in July last year sent shock waves throughout Japan. He was fatally shot twice with a homemade gun while he was giving a stump speech in the city of Nara. The suspect allegedly had a grudge against Abe over his ties with the Unification Church.

Last week, the same day as the Nagano shooting incident, a 51-year-old man — who was a senior member of a group affiliated with the Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan’s largest crime syndicate — was shot three times in the abdomen and neck in the city of Machida in western Tokyo. The suspect, also a man in his 50s, turned himself in on Saturday.

Earlier this month, a 25-year-old member of a police riot squad took his own life in a restroom next to the gate of the Prime Minister’s Office in Tokyo using the gun he was carrying.

Policemen are permitted to carry guns while on duty.