The current Japanese gun control law, created in 1958 and revised in 2014, has helped Japan maintain the lowest crime rates in the world, but has been challenged by the manufacture of homemade weapons.
Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, killed former prime minister Shinzo Abe, one of the country’s leading political leaders, with a 40-centimeter-long hand-made gun in the city of Nara.
Also in Nara, during a search of the suspect’s home, police found objects similar to the weapon used in the attack and other explosives.
Homemade artifacts have plagued police in recent years, but have become even more alarming after the proliferation of 3D printers.
These devices make it possible to manufacture parts, parts and whole objects at home in different types of materials.
“We do inspections like we do with conventional guns, but these homemade guns are very hard to find, because nowadays anyone can buy a 3D printer,” said an instructor at the National Police Academy.
“We have to change the laws and improve the security system.”
In Abe’s case, authorities did not say whether the homemade weapon, with its two cylinders wrapped in black tape and exposed wires, was 3D printed.
other situations
Japan first applied its Firearms Control Act to 3D-printed weapons in 2012.
Police reached out to Yoshitomo Imura, 27, who works at a technology institute in Kanagawa, after seeing videos of his work posted online: five plastic pistols, two of which can fire live bullets.
In March 2002, Osaka police arrested a 61-year-old unemployed man who allegedly used a homemade gun to injure a dog-walker.
Two years later, another attempted murder was recorded, this time with a 3D-printed artifact. The accused, a former driver in Fukuoka Prefecture, hit a colleague.
Police also found a homemade pistol next to the body of a 52-year-old man who committed suicide in Ibaraki Prefecture.
low crime
Despite such cases, statistics show that Japan still remains one of the countries with the lowest crime rates in the world.
According to the National Police Service, there were ten crimes committed with firearms last year that resulted in one death and four injuries.
In addition, 295 weapons were seized and 78 people were detained for violating the relevant law, 29 of whom were mafia-related.
Looking at the data from 2017, there are 10 to 20 shooting incidents per year and the total number of victims (dead and injured) varies between 3 and 12.
By comparison, in the first six months of this year, the US recorded 306 mass shootings, of which at least four were injured or killed.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, this number is close to the record 327 similar crimes were committed in the first half of 2021.
The nonprofit has been tracking firearm crimes since 2014.
‘This could not happen here’
The attack on former Prime Minister Abe shocked the world, as it seemed unlikely in Japan, where such incidents are rare and weapons are tightly controlled.
“This can’t be here!” was one of the most heard comments about the case.
Political leaders spoke of “terrorism”, recalling past attacks. But nothing compares to the murder of a former Japanese prime minister.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said, “This attack is an act of atrocity that took place during the elections, which is the foundation of our democracy, and it is absolutely unforgivable!” said.
Japan goes to the polls on Sunday, 10/7, to renew the Upper House of Parliament. Following the attack on Abe, Prime Minister Kishida confirmed the election schedule and instructed the security of her ministers to be strengthened.
The current system of protecting politicians was introduced in 1975 after an incident involving then-prime minister Takeo Miki. Being attacked by a member of the far-right group while attending a funeral, he continued to criticize the Tokyo Metropolitan Police for not doing enough to ensure his safety.
The outcome of the Abe case brought this topic back to Japanese news.
How was Abe killed?
At the time of the attack, about 30 people were in front of the former prime minister, along with some security guards and some of his team.
The politician was campaigning for his Liberal Democrat comrades in a street near the train station in Nara and speaking with a shot in the back.
A man wearing glasses and a mask is seen ten meters ahead of Abe, in the footage captured on cell phones by the rally attendees. He watched the rally and applauded. Suddenly, he was ten meters away from the politician.
Tetsuya Yamagami fired two shots with the gun before being immobilized by security. He didn’t react.
He confessed to the crime to the police, saying that he had planned everything a few months ago and that he was not happy with the former prime minister, so he planned to kill him.
– Text originally published at https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/internacional-62102889
source: Noticias
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