Guns in Japan
There are guns in Japan. Mostly various kinds of hunting rifles. There isn’t a big sport hunting thing going on here, but there is some. There are shooting clubs and hunters associations. What hunters mostly do in Japan is cull troublesome wild boar from forested mountains areas. You can bet that their firearms are highly regulated.
Handguns are another thing. They are extremely rare. Almost the only people here who have handguns are yakuza gangsters. If a crime occurs involving a handgun, the police often go directly to the local gang office - they have offices with signs announcing who they are - and ask for the culprit. Yakuza gangs advertise themselves as some kind of benevolent, traditional, community organization. The yakuza gangs often comply and hand over a suspect as requested. Whether it is the real perpetrator or not is almost irrelevant. When murders occur in Japan, they are more often than not done with household objects like kitchen knives, or with household or garden poisons. Blades have a special place in Japanese culture.
Blades have a special place in Japanese culture.
So, guns are rare. But they do exist here. How does one go about acquiring a legal firearm in Japan? Here’s how: