Max Fisher describes why Japan has one of the lowest rates of firearm-related deaths in the world: 0.07 per per 100,000 population in one year, compared to 9.20 for the US.
To get a gun in Japan, first, you have to attend an all-day class and pass a written test, which are held only once per month. You also must take and pass a shooting range class. Then, head over to a hospital for a mental test and drug test (Japan is unusual in that potential gun owners must affirmatively prove their mental fitness), which you’ll file with the police. Finally, pass a rigorous background check for any criminal record or association with criminal or extremist groups, and you will be the proud new owner of your shotgun or air rifle. Just don’t forget to provide police with documentation on the specific location of the gun in your home, as well as the ammo, both of which must be locked and stored separately. And remember to have the police inspect the gun once per year and to re-take the class and exam every three years.
via A Land Without Guns: How Japan Has Virtually Eliminated Shooting Deaths – Max Fisher – The Atlantic.
So what’s different for Australia? You must attend a class and pass a written test. You must belong to a Pistol Club for more than 6 months before you can even apply to buy a gun. Then you must submit a Permit to Acquire which can take months to be approved by the police. Once you have the gun you must pass holster and proficiency tests at your club. There are strict regulations regarding transport and storage including a police officer must physically see your safe and you must submit reams of paperwork and photos showing how you have installed the safe and where it is in your house (if criminals get a hold of this information they can then target your house and know exactly where you store your guns). The guns and ammo must be stored separately in lockable storage with your guns in a safe at least 10 mm thick steel and bolted to the floor. You can then only shoot your gun at a range and must attend at least 12 shoots per year. In the NT you must apply for a new licence every year. There is no such thing as a renewal even though when they give you your new licence it is miraculously backdated to when your old licence expired. And I could go on and on. Licenced pistol shooters are the sanest, most responsible people I know. By the way the lowest gun related deaths in the world from firearms is Chile (0.06) where there are approximately 1,500,000 to 2,000, 000 firearms in civilian hands. This equates to 10.7 firearms per 100 people. So maybe firearm related deaths have nothing to do with ownership of firearms and more to do with attitudes of the society in question. A bit like binge drinking perhaps.
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The low rate of firearm homicides for Chile also caught my eye, but there was a massive spike in gun deaths by 2005. There may be anomalies like Chile but they don’t seem to last.
In Chile, according to gunpolicy.org, the annual rate of firearm homicide per 100,000 population is
2005: 2.210
2002: 0.0612
2001: 0.06
2000: 0.1813
Chile is currently conducting a campaign to reduce gun ownership in an attempt to curtail gun violence.