The Compass

My Perfect Country: Gun Control in Japan


Listen Later

Gun control is a policy that fiercely divides nations – on the one hand there are the countries that enshrine the use of guns - while a host of others seek to eliminate them from society.

One country that has dramatically reduced gun violence is Japan. It has one of the world’s lowest homicide rates to the extent that shooting deaths per year are in the single digits.

These are the results of a rigorous gun control policy. Citizens cannot even hold guns in their hands without meeting strict protocols. These include all day classes, written exams, shooting range tests and military style background checks to ensure they have no affiliation with extremist groups. But the biggest factor of all is the decision for all police forces to abandon guns. Instead – they rely heavily on martial arts to combat criminals. However, Japan’s achievements may be under threat. A key element to the success of this policy is the pacifist culture that has shaped the country since World War Two. Now current Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wants to increase militarisation to counter-terrorism.

Fi Glover, professor Henrietta Moore and Martha Lane Fox – together with Iain Overton, the Executive Director of Action on Armed Violence – question whether these laws could work in countries across the world and whether increasing militarisation across the world poses a threat to gun laws.

(Photo: A man handles a fake gun on show at the Japan Models and Hobby Show 2016. Credit: Getty Images)

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The CompassBy BBC World Service

  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6

4.6

98 ratings


More shows like The Compass

View all
In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,420 Listeners

From Our Own Correspondent by BBC Radio 4

From Our Own Correspondent

371 Listeners

The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

The Documentary Podcast

1,810 Listeners

Start the Week by BBC Radio 4

Start the Week

156 Listeners

Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,671 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,747 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,078 Listeners

Science In Action by BBC World Service

Science In Action

343 Listeners

More or Less: Behind the Stats by BBC Radio 4

More or Less: Behind the Stats

889 Listeners

Witness History by BBC World Service

Witness History

964 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

2,076 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,043 Listeners

In Our Time: History by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: History

1,867 Listeners

The Life Scientific by BBC Radio 4

The Life Scientific

239 Listeners

The Audio Long Read by The Guardian

The Audio Long Read

841 Listeners

BBC Inside Science by BBC Radio 4

BBC Inside Science

398 Listeners

The Inquiry by BBC World Service

The Inquiry

758 Listeners

CrowdScience by BBC World Service

CrowdScience

477 Listeners

How to Invent a Country by BBC Radio 4

How to Invent a Country

72 Listeners

13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle by BBC World Service

13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle

4,173 Listeners

Americast by BBC News

Americast

709 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

2,960 Listeners

The Rest Is History by Goalhanger

The Rest Is History

13,064 Listeners

The Rest Is Politics by Goalhanger

The Rest Is Politics

3,038 Listeners

Empire by Goalhanger

Empire

2,122 Listeners