It was fall in Tokyo, and Saki Arai needed a gun. Saki manages the Bistro Hibino and wanted to hunt wild game for her farm-to-table restaurant.
If Saki lived in, say, Tulsa, instead of Tokyo, getting a gun would have been almost as simple as buying a gallon of milk. She would visit one of the 20 licensed firearm dealers in the area, present her driver's license, fill out a couple of forms and leave the store with her weapon.
In Japan, obtaining a firearm isn't so easy.
Saki's first step was to attend a one-day training session organized by the Tokyo police, held once a month for those seeking a gun license. Throughout the course of a September day, the officer in charge outlined the steps she and her husband, Tak, would need to follow and the responsibilities of owning a gun. The couple paid 6,800 yen — about $60 — for the session and were provided with several books to review for a test they had to complete that afternoon.
After they passed the exam, they were instructed to contact their local police prefecture to apply for training at a shooting range. They prepared the items they would need for their application: a certificate of residency, a photo ID, a list of past jobs and addresses. Saki and Tak were required to visit a mental-health professional to be assessed for competency. When they completed the interview, they received a certificate.
Next, Saki and Tak visited their neighborhood police station. An officer asked them several questions. "Why do you want a gun?" "Where do you live and what do you do for a living?" "Do any of your relatives have mental-health issues?" Each answer was carefully documented, and one hour after arriving, they left the station.
In the following days, their application was checked against police databases — a process similar to our national background check — and subsequently they were notified they were approved to move to the next step, a training session at the Narita Shooting Range, about 90 minutes by car from Saki and Tak's apartment. When they arrived, they were served tea and given a classroom overview followed by a written exam covering gun safety, training on the range and a target session. After an hour of instruction and the exam, they headed to the range to practice. Both Saki and Tak passed.
Over the next few days, a policeman made an unannounced visit to Tak's office, where he conducted separate interviews with two employees. He also went to Saki's restaurant and visited several of their neighbors, of whom he asked questions such as "Do you ever hear screaming voices from their apartment?" The officers who handle these interviews have wide discretion to deny an application to anyone they deem high-risk. Their decision is final.
