@engineer,
This is not an endorsement of gun control.
https://www.businessinsider.com/switzerland-gun-laws-rates-of-gun-deaths-2018-2?op=1
Switzerland hasn't had a mass shooting in 21 years.
They also have 1 gun per 4 people in a nation of 8 million people. They train people to use guns responsibly.
This is not to say Japan is lying.
But rather, whatever they do actually is gun control not just "we'll prevent private citizens from having guns while being extremely lack about criminals owning guns." This is Chicago and Los Angeles's approach, and we have school shooting after school shooting. Only, violence doesn't stop after everyone's disarmed.
All the same, this seems like a national pride narrative where they are reluctant to admit if someone actually did have a gun because they are supposed to be without guns. Japanese people are oddly axiomatic, and consider it a mark of pride to have a boring job, and not do anything odd or disgraceful. In America, letting your freak flag fly is seen as alot more okay.