With the growing violence in Brazil, the use of firearms generates discussions on social media. Many wish that Brazil would follow the U.S. and facilitate access to firearms for the population. In this article, we will analyze Japan and prove that through its history and culture, having a firearm may or may not be necessary.
Each country has its own situations and circumstances that determine how firearms should or should not be used and distributed. In Japan itself, firearms played a very important role in its history and culture.
I am totally against any use of firearms, but if I have to choose between innocent people dying more than criminals because of disarmament, I prefer armed people killing the criminals. First, we must think if this is necessarily the best step to end Brazil’s insecurity.
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How many people die from firearms in Japan and around the world?
In Brazil, deaths from firearms exceed 50,000 every year, while in the United States, the number usually hovers around 30,000. What about Japan? The number of deaths from firearms per year in Japan rarely exceeds even 10 people.
About 90% of the American population is armed, while 8.8% of the Brazilian population is armed, and in Japan, not even all police officers are armed. Even so, firearms account for more than 70% of homicides in Brazil, while in the United States, this number is 5 times higher, with a good portion coming from suicides.
In the last 30 years, deaths caused by firearms in Brazil have risen by 346.5%, while the rates in various countries have been decreasing each year. Even neighboring countries and the famous Mexico have statistics lower than Brazil, despite having almost double the firearms and drug trafficking.
Countries like Korea and Singapore prohibit firearms and have a low rate of deaths from guns. Iceland has one of the lowest numbers of gun deaths even with 30% of the population armed. It is evident that firearms do not make much difference in the rates of various countries. It all depends on how the country functions, its culture, and its laws.
Is it very difficult to obtain a firearm in Japan?
When we talk about gun ownership, people believe that it is completely prohibited to have guns in Brazil and Japan. The big truth is that anyone can legally obtain a gun permit in both countries, but there are thousands of strict rules and a quite expensive cost for all of this.
There have been several recent changes that made gun ownership even more restrictive in Japan, because there were times when Japanese could have guns that even Americans were not allowed to have. Nowadays, even to use an air rifle in Japan, a license is required.
In Japan, a person must take several shooting lessons, pass a written test, undergo psychological and drug tests at a hospital, and undergo a massive background check on their life and criminal record. At home, firearms must be kept in a safe place separate from ammunition. After all this, you will be permitted to have a shotgun or air rifle for hunting.
Even with a gun permit in Japan, you must report to the police every time you go hunting and how many bullets you will use. After the hunt, you need to report the fate of each bullet, how many shots were fired, how many hit their targets, and where the misses went. Every year you will be inspected by the police.
Illegal firearms also circulate in Japan as in any country among criminals. Fortunately, they are rarely used for robberies or thefts thanks to strict Japanese laws. The illegal importation of firearms is also a very rare occurrence; some firearms owned by criminals are simply war trophies.
The history of firearms in Japan and how they were banned
Japan spent a large part of its history in civil wars. In the year 1500, the Dutch brought a firearm called matchlock, which played a significant role in the wars during the Sengoku period. In the meantime, Japan became the largest manufacturer of firearms in the world and of the highest quality.
Firearms allowed the use of peasants in battle, as they did not require much training and experience like swords and bows. Firearms helped Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu to unify Japan. Thus arose the Tokugawa Shogunate, which was considered one of the longest periods of peace in Japanese history.
It was Toyotomi Hideyoshi who prohibited peasants from owning firearms to prevent rebellions. Firearms in Japan and their manufacture were completely banned along with swords shortly after unification. Gun ownership in general was severely restricted, and even the samurai class was transformed into bureaucrats.
After World War II, firearms lost even more of their popularity with the end of the massive Japanese army. The Yakuza and Japanese criminals have incredibly decreased each year, especially the use of firearms by mobsters, bringing even more peace to Japan and its population.
How do the Japanese view firearms?
The majority of Japanese have never seen a firearm in their lives, much less fired one. Most of the time, only high-ranking police officers, criminals, hunters, and military personnel get to experience the use of a firearm. This makes the desire to own a firearm unlikely for a Japanese person.
The reality of the Japanese leads them to think that if a country like the U.S. were to get rid of its guns, violence would simply disappear. Japan does not even consider the idea of an armed robbery or carjacking.
In countries like the U.S. and Brazil, firearms seem to make more sense, unlike Japan, which for many seems like a fantasy world, but where there really is no need for concern regarding violence and firearms.
Not only the Japanese but also some other developed nations view American gun culture quite negatively. In most countries where firearms are allowed, their common use is for hunting and not for self-defense (especially since there is no need).
The only hobby involving firearms that is popular in Japan besides video games is airsoft. In Japan, it is possible to find an infinite variety of airsoft guns; even anime and manga about airsoft have been released in recent years.
Even hunting animals is not so popular in Japan; most of those who own guns in Japan for hunting do so as a job and not for sport. Only high-class individuals with international connections tend to use hunting as a hobby.
How does Japan manage to be safe without firearms?
Various aspects of Japanese culture make Japan a place free of firearms and violence. The rigidity of laws, education, and society ensures that the Japanese live in harmony without thinking about or attempting to do harm. This rigid culture and social pressure have their consequences, but they are a key factor in the country’s safety.
I would probably take years to try to explain the cultural differences between the Japanese and Brazilians and how this drastically affects the safety of each country. Some use the excuse that Brazil is large and full of borders, while Japan is just an island, but this idea is not correct when we analyze the data from neighboring countries.
The differences between the countries are cultural and not geographical. Brazil just needs to implement strict laws and invest in education to drastically reduce these alarming statistics of crimes and deaths from firearms in the country. If the population had a little more interest in others and in knowledge, many of these issues would be avoided.
In reality, in the current scenario of the country, I only see negative things happening with the release of firearms without strict control and without changes in laws and criminal penalties. Not to mention that culturally, Brazilians are not prepared to own firearms. Not even all police officers show competence in using them.
I am not against the release of firearms; I just don’t think it’s a good idea to release guns without changing the flawed law we have in Brazil. With this article, I just want to present that it is not the guns that make a country safe, but rather the law and education.
I think the only and best solution for Brazil is to do what was done in Singapore, eliminate all evil at the root. Changes are possible, as both Japan and Singapore were violent countries that became peaceful countries. And you? What do you think? I hope you enjoyed the article; we appreciate the shares and would love to hear your comments.
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