June 14th 2023.
Wednesday was a tragic day in Japan, as two people lost their lives in an incident involving a cadet allegedly opening fire on members of his own unit at a military training centre in central Japan. The Ground Self-Defence Force confirmed that the incident took place during a live-fire training exercise and several other people were wounded.
The cadet was arrested and the motive has yet to be established, according to authorities. The incident took place at a shooting range in Hino City in the central Japanese prefecture of Gifu, with two servicemen, aged 25 and 52, killed in the incident and another 25-year-old man wounded.
SDF Chief of Staff Yasunori Morishita expressed his shock and sorrow during a televised press conference, declaring that "this kind of incident should never happen in an organisation that handles weapons." He also added that an investigation committee will be set up to examine the incident and prevent similar events from occurring in future.
Japan's public broadcaster NHK reported that the suspect was a teenage member of the SDF who allegedly fired an automatic rifle. Gun violence is extremely rare in Japan, a country of 125 million people, due to its extremely strict gun control laws. However, there have been a string of high-profile violent crimes reported in the country recently, with four people – including two police officers – dying in a shooting and stabbing incident in Nakano City in central Japan last month.
According to the National Police Agency, nine incidents involving firearms took place in Japan in 2022, including the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Of the nine incidents, six are believed to have been committed by gangs and other groups, with four people killed and two injured in the nine incidents. It is a sad reminder of the dangers of weapons and the need for stringent gun control laws.
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