Japan has near zero tolerance of gun ownership and one of the lowest rates of gun violence in the world, making the attack on Shinzo Abe particularly shocking.

My colleagues Cait Kelly and Justin McCurry have looked at the country’s gun laws and regulations. They write:

The pathway to gun ownership in Japan takes 13 steps. First, potential gun owners need to join a hunting or shooting club, they then have to take a firearm class and pass a written exam, before getting a doctor to state they are mentally fit and have no history of drug dependency.

They then have to apply to take a full-day course in how to fire a gun and store it safely.

The police then interview potential gun owners about why they want a firearm and conduct a thorough background check that involves interviewing members of the person’s family, their relationship with their neighbours, employment history and their financial status.

If they pass, they can then apply for a gunpowder permit and get a certificate from a dealer about what sort of gun they want. They then need to buy an ammunition locker and gun safe, which is inspected by police, who then do another background check.

In 2013, the country hit a record high for gun crime – with 40 criminal cases of guns being fired, but has followed a downward trend since – in 2020, there were 21 arrests for the use of firearms, with 12 of them gang-related, Nikkei Asia reported.