President Joe Biden reacted to the assassination of former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, by praising Japan’s strict gun control laws.
“One thing did strike my attention that this is the first use of a weapon to murder someone in Japan and I think we have thus far have 3,000 … don’t hold me to the numbers … 688, or between three to four thousand cases,” Biden said. “They have one.”
Biden’s comment is unclear but it appears he was speaking about gun deaths in Japan compared to gun deaths in the United States.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, the United States has had 10,391 gun deaths so far in 2022 (excluding suicides).
Japan has some of the world’s strictest gun laws, only allowing citizens to own shotguns or airguns after a lengthy background check and registration process.
Abe was shot in the back with what looked to be a handmade gun.
Japan’s National Police Agency reports there were 10 gun-related incidents in Japan in 2021 and only one person died.
There were 20,726 gun deaths (excluding suicides) in the United States in 2021, according to estimates.
Biden earlier used Abe’s death to condemn “gun violence,” in his statement using the incident to promote his political agenda.
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