04-21-2007, 06:32 AM
A tragic incident like this always invokes calls for tighter gun control, with several countries cited as examples of where gun control works.
Recalling Noel Perrin's excellent book "Giving Up The Gun: Japan's Reversion To The Sword 1543-1879" (c1979 ISBN: 0-87923-278-1) one naturally thinks of Japan as an example of a country where crime is low and gun control tight. Indeed, at first glance the numbers are quite impressive, and yet nothing, particularly in history, is ever simple or black & white.
While it is true that guns in Japan are tightly controlled and actual ownership is in fact on the decline, there are a host of cultural and historic reasons for this apart from simple gun laws. The Japanese example, commendable though it may be in many aspects is, I fear, not one that can be duplicated here in the United States nor perhaps anywhere else in the world.
This has as much to do with Japan's Samurai past as it does with more recent history. (Then again, the incident at Virginia Tech is causing the Japanese to consider tightening their gun controls yet again.)
I came upon a most fascinating article about crime, gun control and police power in Japan. The article was first published back in 1993 but is still quite relevant. It is a conscience yet thorough examination of this issue and the historic precedents that make Japan unique. Those of our members who have studied Japanese history (either formally or for their own edification) should find this article of particular interest. I think the rest of our members might find it illuminating with regards to current events and questions of where we go from here.
www.constitution.org/2ll/2ndschol/64kjgc.pdf
Narukami
Recalling Noel Perrin's excellent book "Giving Up The Gun: Japan's Reversion To The Sword 1543-1879" (c1979 ISBN: 0-87923-278-1) one naturally thinks of Japan as an example of a country where crime is low and gun control tight. Indeed, at first glance the numbers are quite impressive, and yet nothing, particularly in history, is ever simple or black & white.
While it is true that guns in Japan are tightly controlled and actual ownership is in fact on the decline, there are a host of cultural and historic reasons for this apart from simple gun laws. The Japanese example, commendable though it may be in many aspects is, I fear, not one that can be duplicated here in the United States nor perhaps anywhere else in the world.
This has as much to do with Japan's Samurai past as it does with more recent history. (Then again, the incident at Virginia Tech is causing the Japanese to consider tightening their gun controls yet again.)
I came upon a most fascinating article about crime, gun control and police power in Japan. The article was first published back in 1993 but is still quite relevant. It is a conscience yet thorough examination of this issue and the historic precedents that make Japan unique. Those of our members who have studied Japanese history (either formally or for their own edification) should find this article of particular interest. I think the rest of our members might find it illuminating with regards to current events and questions of where we go from here.
www.constitution.org/2ll/2ndschol/64kjgc.pdf
Narukami
David Reinke
Burbank CA
Burbank CA
