"Killing" spree in Japan

[Donkey®]

Man wanted for murder goes on stabbing spree - CNN.com

Originally Posted by article

Man wanted for murder goes on stabbing spree

TOKYO, Japan (AP) -- One person was stabbed to death and at least seven others were hurt by a man who went on a knifing spree outside a shopping mall in eastern Japan on Sunday, police said.

The suspect, who carried two knives, slashed the victims while walking along a short hallway connecting a railway station to the mall in the city of Tsuchiura, about 62 kilometers (38 miles) northeast of Tokyo, a police official said on condition of anonymity.

Chaos broke out after the attacks, with the sirens of several ambulances blasting through the mall compound and frightened shoppers trying to escape the bloody scene, said local police official Takahiro Nakajima.

At least seven people, including shoppers and a police officer, were injured and an eighth -- a 27-year-old man -- died as he was being rushed to a nearby hospital, said Kiyoto Ogata, a police spokesman.

Police arrested the alleged attacker, Masahiro Kanagawa, 24, who was wanted in the earlier slaying of a 72-year-old man, Ogata said.

The man later told investigators that he "just wanted to kill anyone," Kyodo News agency reported.

"It was extremely regrettable that we could not prevent the attacks that caused casualties, despite our utmost effort to avoid secondary crimes (by the wanted suspect)," Ibaraki prefectural state police official Takashi Ishii said at a news conference.

Violent crimes are relatively rare in Japan, where most shootings and stabbings are committed by the nation's "yakuza" crime syndicates.

However, street violence was up 4.6 percent in the first half of 2007, according to the National Police Agency's latest crime report.

Nearly 55 percent of murder cases during the same period involved swords and knives, while guns accounted for just 2.4 percent of the killings, the police agency reported.

To accommodate growing public concerns, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department plans to launch an e-mail service next month to provide subscribers with warnings about wanted suspects, their crimes and locations. E-mail to a friend E-mail to a friend

To me, this illustrates perfectly the difference between what happens in America and most of the rest of the civilized world. Japan, home to the same violent video games and movies people blame our societal ills on, seems to have a decent handle on events like this. Which are a rarity. So what's the main difference here? Why does a "spree" in Japan usually look like this and a "spree" in a mall here looks like Fallujah? Gun laws and access to guns seems to be the key difference between us. I am sure I will be proven wrong and called a Constitutional rapist for even starting this thread, but whatever. Situation seems pretty clear to me. I don't have the first clue what would fix our problem here...but seems that less guns and more regulation works just fine in Japan.

[A_C_E]

ib10,000LibertariansRippingYourHeadOffAndSayingWe' dBeMuchBetterOffIfThereWereWayMoreGuns

[Thorgrim]

A-fucking-men brother...too many idiots have access to "semi" automatic guns

IMO there is very little restriction on a 45, a trained psycho can kill half a dozen people before anyone else can even unholster their gun

Also, even in this example, the guy could have been taken out with pepperspray

In a perfect world, you could have one pistol in your room in a secure spot with a trigger lock, a rifle or two in a very secure gun safe, and anything else would have be put in a special secured area and disassembled unless there is an emergency outbreak of violence in your neighborhood

Also all bullets should be fingerprinted/serialized, and if you want to complain about the technology then we should work on it, not dismiss it

I see nothing unreasonable about that

[RMNIXON]

Japan has low crime rates period. Across the board. Lack of Guns does not explain this very well. A culture where a criminal act is a matter of family and society shame might be the real factor? The idea that people are in fact responsible for personal actions, and not just victims of social injustice who need to be understood.

[Tessy]

Well said! And actually guns are abundant here. I can get a nice glock with a phone call
and $300 or so. Shells are extra. I know 3 people selling right now. Also it's not that
hard to get a lic. for handgun, rifle, or shotgun legally if you want one. It just takes time
and some $$.

The low crime rate is as you say which is a direct reflection and product of healthy family
units and humanistic common sense moral ethics. Something the US Gov actually seems to
be trying to extinguish. Everyone in the US is so disconnected from everyone else. Here
we mostly don't even knock on a neighbor's door.. we walk in and call to them. Every
institution school, work, even some of the gov. offices, are an extension of the family
unit - or you can reject it if you're the type that wants to be left alone. Course if you do
so with your job that'll be a little tough.

Also that article says yakuza （やくざ）is a "crime syndicate" and in a few cases a very
few cases, it is. But mostly it's just the equivalent of what Americans call "rednecks". The
word yakuza means "ruffian" or sometimes "thug" - it's very seldom used to mean "mafia".
This is a common misconception - even among foreigners living here.

[kinggovernor]

they should probably look into banning knifes, they cost over half the homicides in the country. It will make them much safer

[motivez]

let's not make it personal guys

I really don't know much about crime in Japan, but I think Nixon makes a good point, their culture is really different than ours when it comes to shame and one's actions reflecting upon ones family.. I have to believe that has a pretty big role in crime being lower

I really don't buy into the idea that less guns = less crimes, I think having access to guns makes the crimes people would commit anyway worse, but I don't ever remember seeing a study that showed places that had less gun control, carry & conceal permits, etc.. had higher gun-related crime incidents than places that don't

It's just the opposite, isn't it?

[Thorgrim]

Originally Posted by motivez

let's not make it personal guys

I really don't know much about crime in Japan, but I think Nixon makes a good point, their culture is really different than ours when it comes to shame and one's actions reflecting upon ones family.. I have to believe that has a pretty big role in crime being lower

I really don't buy into the idea that less guns = less crimes, I think having access to guns makes the crimes people would commit anyway worse, but I don't ever remember seeing a study that showed places that had less gun control, carry & conceal permits, etc.. had higher gun-related crime incidents than places that don't

It's just the opposite, isn't it?

while not getting into another huge gun debate, I'll just say the one big work on "more guns less crime" was debunked...quite well, by two PhDs out of Stanford, and that is public knowledge

[motivez]

Yeah, I'm not trying to get into the constitutional argument, those posts can be moved to the other thread

But, how hard are guns to get in Japan for criminals?

[Donkey®]

Originally Posted by motivez

let's not make it personal guys

I really don't know much about crime in Japan, but I think Nixon makes a good point, their culture is really different than ours when it comes to shame and one's actions reflecting upon ones family.. I have to believe that has a pretty big role in crime being lower

I really don't buy into the idea that less guns = less crimes, I think having access to guns makes the crimes people would commit anyway worse, but I don't ever remember seeing a study that showed places that had less gun control, carry & conceal permits, etc.. had higher gun-related crime incidents than places that don't

It's just the opposite, isn't it?

You know, people tend to use the "hey, I don't buy the less guns=less crime argument" but please show me where more guns = less crime as a counter-argument that works.

[Ardentfrost]

As previously stated, Japan has a really different culture than we do. That being said, you cannot look at a country who bans guns then just look at gun-related crimes. Those of us who support gun ownership want people to be able to protect themselves from criminals using their fists or anything else.

Still, Japan historically has a far lower crime rate than the rest of the first world. Although, their crime has increased dramatically in the past 10 years. Japan seems to blame foreigners for their increased crime.

Either way, gun crime in Japan was dismal even before they beefed up gun control further in the 80's (making it more difficult to get sports guns such as shotguns for skeet shooting). It is too difficult to compare them to another culture, especially the US.

Of course, perhaps gun control could work in the US if our police had the same rights as theirs do. For instance, they can perform random search and seizures and very rarely will the evidence get tossed out of court (unlike in America where that would get the policeman chastised), even if the search was completely illegal.

Japan seems like a nice place to visit, but I certainly wouldn't want to live in that society.

[WickedLou9]

Originally Posted by Ardentfrost

As previously stated, Japan has a really different culture than we do. That being said, you cannot look at a country who bans guns then just look at gun-related crimes. Those of us who support gun ownership want people to be able to protect themselves from criminals using their fists or anything else.

Still, Japan historically has a far lower crime rate than the rest of the first world. Although, their crime has increased dramatically in the past 10 years. Japan seems to blame foreigners for their increased crime.

Either way, gun crime in Japan was dismal even before they beefed up gun control further in the 80's (making it more difficult to get sports guns such as shotguns for skeet shooting). It is too difficult to compare them to another culture, especially the US.

Of course, perhaps gun control could work in the US if our police had the same rights as theirs do. For instance, they can perform random search and seizures and very rarely will the evidence get tossed out of court (unlike in America where that would get the policeman chastised), even if the search was completely illegal.

Japan seems like a nice place to visit, but I certainly wouldn't want to live in that society.

Yeah I think it's a huge mistake to blame gun laws here. I might go so far as to say that it's a somewhat arrogant claim. He assumes that our culture is the same as thiers with the excetion of gun laws. Nothing could be further from the truth. You can not look at something like violent crime and try to come to some sort of conclusion without understanding the entire culture.
I stand by my idea that gun laws have no effect on crime. Guns are a tool, nothing more. You have to have someone who wants to commit a crime first. Then they will set about finding the tools they need to commit that crime. I don't know about you guys but when I am into some project, be it building something, or repairing the plumbing or whatever, I look for a tool that I can use which will work for my purpose. If I can't find the best tool, I find something else that will do the job. It's not like people who were going to rob a store would suddenly decide not to do so if they could not find a gun. They would find some other tool.

[hsmith]

Lets look at the Swiss who have firearms in a majority of homes

Police statistics for the year 2006[10] records 34 killings or attempted killings involving firearms, compared to 69 cases involving bladed weapons and 16 cases of unarmed assault. Cases of assault resulting in bodily harm numbered 89 (firearms) and 526 (bladed weapons). This represents a decline of aggravated assaults involving firearms since the early 1990s. Some 300 deaths per year are due to legally held army ordinance weapons, the large majority of these being suicides. The majority of gun crimes involving domestic violence are perpetrated with army ordinance weapons, while the majority of gun crime outside the domestic sphere involves illegally held firearms.[11]

Apples and oranges. The danger comes from our culture, not from the weapons themselves. Our culture is fucked up, from a multitude of reasons. Drugs, abortion, war, our disposable culture all play into it.

[Publius]

Obviously knives need to be banned in Japan, they're a scourge upon society. In fact we should go ahead and preemptively ban them here as well before someone goes on a cutting spree. Butter knives are fine, but chefs knives need to be outlawed immediately. I mean, look at how evil they look!

[hsmith]

Originally Posted by Publius

Obviously knives need to be banned in Japan, they're a scourge upon society. In fact we should go ahead and preemptively ban them here as well before someone goes on a cutting spree. Butter knives are fine, but chefs knives need to be outlawed immediately. I mean, look at how evil they look!

Looks like the Swiss need to as well. More deaths result from knives than guns

[Thorgrim]

Originally Posted by hsmith

Lets look at the Swiss who have firearms in a majority of homes



Apples and oranges. The danger comes from our culture, not from the weapons themselves. Our culture is fucked up, from a multitude of reasons. Drugs, abortion, war, our disposable culture all play into it.

As you probably know, the Swiss are required to have firearms in most instances, as they what the founders thought, a real citizen militia

The weapons are under lock and key, and the ammo is sealed, you practice by going to government regulated sites where they give you ammo there

Ofcourse, there is still some abuse, but as shown it's pretty small

It's strange, you probably picked the country with gun laws most similiar to what the founding fathers wanted, yet you'd call those same laws terribly restrictive if they were applied here

[Donkey®]

Originally Posted by Publius

Obviously knives need to be banned in Japan, they're a scourge upon society. In fact we should go ahead and preemptively ban them here as well before someone goes on a cutting spree. Butter knives are fine, but chefs knives need to be outlawed immediately. I mean, look at how evil they look!

[img]http://cooking101.abccook.com/images/chef-knife-big.jpg

This is always such a bullshit argument. Last time I checked, knives had multiple uses in society. What are guns for again? (ibtargetshootingbullshit) Surely you have no issue with nuclear weapon regulation? Regulation of deadly substances such as ricin...or how about anthrax? If you don't use the "ban all knives" argument...it will be "ban all cars." which is invalid as well. Accidents are accidents...and again, cars have other uses in our society. But all that aside, when you can show me any court ruling that's been upheld saying the 2nd amendment applies to the individual, then you have an argument.

[hsmith]

Originally Posted by Donkey®

This is always such a bullshit argument. Last time I checked, knives had multiple uses in society. What are guns for again? (ibtargetshootingbullshit) Surely you have no issue with nuclear weapon regulation? Regulation of deadly substances such as ricin...or how about anthrax? If you don't use the "ban all knives" argument...it will be "ban all cars." which is invalid as well. Accidents are accidents...and again, cars have other uses in our society. But all that aside, when you can show me any court ruling that's been upheld saying the 2nd amendment applies to the individual, then you have an argument.

What ruling shows the 2nd amendment is only a collective right?

I mean if that is your self described litmus test, where is it on your end?

[Donkey®]

Originally Posted by hsmith

What ruling shows the 2nd amendment is only a collective right?

I mean if that is your self described litmus test, where is it on your end?

What ruling doesn't? Let's start with US vs Miller or the other DC case, Seegars v. Ashcroft.