China
Gun Briefing Backfires in China: Policeman Accidentally Shoots Reporters
BBC News
18 July 2008
Three Chinese reporters attending a police briefing on the success of an anti-gun campaign were accidentally shot, media reports say. An officer picked up one of the weapons on show -- a confiscated home-made gun -- but it went off in his hand. A reporter needed surgery for injuries to his ankle, crotch and chest, after being hit by what appeared to be pebbles fired by the gun. Two others were slightly injured... ( gunpolicy.org )
Zimbabwe, China, Southern Africa
Outrage Lingers Over Chinese Shipment of Guns, Ammunition to Zimbabwe
Arms Control Today (USA)
1 June 2008
In April, South African dockworkers refused to unload a Chinese cargo ship carrying more than 70 tons of small arms destined for Zimbabwe. The refusal set off international reactions that led to the recall of the shipment and calls for stronger international arms trade measures, such as a global arms trade treaty. The shipment, including three million rounds of ammunition for AK47s and 1,500 rocket-propelled grenades, was meant... ( gunpolicy.org )
China
Chinese Official Was Gang Boss 'With Crush on Guns' - Jailed for Life
Reuters
29 May 2008
BEIJING -- A gun-toting Chinese official who owned two Ferraris and liked driving around in an amoured personnel carrier has been jailed for life for illegal weapons possession and fraud, state media reported on Friday. Yang Shukuan, a former member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference for the northern city of Tangshan and the head of an organized crime ring, was arrested for extortion last year. "The... ( gunpolicy.org )
Japan
Yakuza Gangster Sentenced to Death for Shooting Mayor of Nagasaki
Associated Press
26 May 2008
TOKYO -- A court in Japan convicted an alleged gangster and sentenced him to death Monday for the fatal shooting of a popular mayor in a crime that stunned a nation that takes great pride in its rigid gun-control laws, media reports said. Tetsuya Shiroo, 60, who police say is a gang boss, was convicted of murder and sentenced to death Monday in Nagasaki District Court, according to Kyodo News and NHK TV. Court official Tomoya Nagata... ( gunpolicy.org )
Japan
Doctor Faces Japanese Court Over 18 Guns, Home Made Ammunition
Mainichi Daily News (Japan)
22 May 2008
TSU -- A doctor accused of illegally possessing guns has been slapped with a new charge of manufacturing bullets without permission, law enforcers said. Mie Prefectural Police have sent to the Tsu District Public Prosecutors Office additional papers accusing Kenji Abo, 58, a doctor from Tsu, of violating the Ordnance Manufacturing Law. "I wanted to make (bullets) by myself," Abo was quoted as telling police as he admitted... ( gunpolicy.org )
World, United States, France, Canada, Germany, Angola, Thailand, Australia, Colombia, South Africa, Turkey, Pakistan, Russia, Brazil, United Kingdom, India, China
Guns Around the World: Civilian Firearms per 100 People in 16 Nations
Economist
30 April 2008
An estimated 875m small arms are in circulation worldwide: one for every seven people on the planet. Nearly three-quarters of these are owned by civilians. And about 80% of those guns in civilian hands are found in just 30 countries, according to the Small Arms Survey, a research group. Although America accounts for 40% of firearms in civilian ownership, people put them to more deadly use elsewhere. The gun murder rate in Colombia... ( gunpolicy.org )
Zimbabwe, China
Arms Cargo to Zimbabwe Exposes Mugabe's Link to Chinese Gun Maker
Sunday Times (UK)
28 April 2008
The boycott of a Chinese ship laden with weapons for Zimbabwe has cast new light on the connections between the African country's president, Robert Mugabe, and a secretive Chinese arms-trading firm with a controversial track record from the Congo to Darfur. The ship steamed towards China last week after dock workers in Durban refused to unload it and a South African court blocked the transit of its cargo of mortar and small arms... ( gunpolicy.org )
Zimbabwe, China
Beijing Recalls Zimbabwe Arms Cargo: Speculation on Gun Airlift to Mugabe
Associated Press
25 April 2008
BEIJING -- A shipment of Chinese weapons headed for troubled Zimbabwe will be returned to China because there is no way to deliver it to the landlocked country in southern Africa, China said Thursday. Countries neighboring Zimbabwe refused to allow the Chinese freighter An Yue Jiang to dock at their ports. That followed heavy pressure from African unions, churches and human rights groups, bolstered by behind-the-scenes pressure... ( gunpolicy.org )
Zimbabwe, Zambia, United Kingdom, Canada, China, World
Chinese Gun Shipment to Zimbabwe Shines Spotlight on Global Gun Trade
Toronto Star (Ontario)
24 April 2008
When the Chinese freighter An Yue Jiang pulled into the South African port of Durban last week loaded with weapons bound for crisis-ridden Zimbabwe, it seemed to be just one more day in the lucrative arms trade that has engulfed the continent with deadly results. Instead the ship ran into a storm of protest -- with dock workers joining union leaders, church officials and the High Court to block the shipment -- until the vessel left... ( gunpolicy.org )
Zimbabwe, South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia, China
Praise 3 African Nations for Barring 'Ship of Shame' Gun Cargo to Zimbabwe
Los Angeles Times, Editorial
24 April 2008
It's a rare moment when three African nations, in an effort to forestall violence, block a shipment of weapons to a neighboring country in political turmoil. It's perhaps even a historic development when those weapons were sold by a great power and were bound for a government that is not under United Nations sanctions and has every legal right to buy arms -- though no moral right to do so. So let us praise the courageous peoples of South... ( gunpolicy.org )
Namibia, Zimbabwe, Angola, China
Cargo of Chinese Guns, Ammunition Visits Namibia on Way to Zimbabwe
Namibian (Windhoek)
22 April 2008
A Chinese ship carrying six containers of ammunition for Zimbabwe has applied to take on fuel at Walvis Bay this morning. The An Yue Jiang is carrying three million rounds of AK-47 ammunition, 1 500 rocket-propelled grenades and more than 3 000 mortar rounds and mortar tubes. Attempts to get comment from Government yesterday were unsuccessful. Messages were left for Minister of Information, Joel Kaapanda, but he... ( gunpolicy.org )
Zimbabwe, China, South Africa, United States, Mozambique, Angola, Namibia
China Says Ship Carrying Ammunition, Guns to Zimbabwe May Head Home
Associated Press
22 April 2008
HARARE, Zimbabwe -- A shipment of weapons to Zimbabwe may be returned to China, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Tuesday, after the troubled southern African nation's neighbors prevented the cargo from being unloaded. The Chinese freighter arrived in South Africa last week, and human rights groups and others said they feared the mortar grenades and bullets onboard could be used by President Robert Mugabe's regime to clamp down... ( gunpolicy.org )
Zimbabwe, China, South Africa, Mozambique, Angola, Namibia, Zambia
Chinese Ammunition 'Ship of Shame' Adrift in Southern African Controversy
IRIN (UN News)
22 April 2008
JOHANNESBURG -- There were conflicting reports about the whereabouts of a Chinese ship, laden with a cargo of small arms destined for Zimbabwe, after it was turned away from South Africa's port city of Durban. According to some reports, the 150-metre multipurpose cargo vessel, the An Yue Jiang - registered in China and one of 600 vessels owned by the China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO), dubbed by South African media as the "Ship... ( gunpolicy.org )
Zimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia, China
Global Gun Control Campaign Protests Chinese Arms Shipment to Zimbabwe
New Era (Windhoek)
22 April 2008
WINDHOEK -- The Legal Assistance Centre (LAC) yesterday called on all Namibians to raise their voices in protest against the docking of the Chinese ship, An Jue Jiang, at a Namibian harbour. The ship is carrying arms bound for Zimbabwe, including three million rounds of ammunition and desperately trying to find a way to deliver the cargo to that country. After the International Action Network on Small Arms, IANSA, a global... ( gunpolicy.org )
Zimbabwe, China, South Africa, United States, Mozambique, Angola, Namibia
Gun Cargo Rejection 'Dramatic Turn' for Africa's Embrace of Zimbabwe
Washington Post
22 April 2008
JOHANNESBURG -- A Chinese ship carrying weapons and ammunition for Zimbabwe's military may be headed back home, reports said, after repeated attempts to deliver its cargo were frustrated by a coalition of legal activists, union workers and human rights groups. The region's resistance to the shipment, which drew praise from the United States on Tuesday, marks a dramatic turn from southern Africa's traditional embrace of Zimbabwe's... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia, Angola, China
Southern African Ports Shun Ship Carrying Guns to Zimbabwe; US Agrees
Los Angeles Times / Chicago Tribune
22 April 2008
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- Public outcries have forced a rusty Chinese cargo ship to avoid South Africa, Mozambique and Angola, leaving it at sea Tuesday with 77 tons of munitions bound for Zimbabwe, where an election crisis has reportedly turned violent. The An Yue Jiang was carrying about 3 million rounds of Chinese ammunition, 1,500 rockets and 3,000 mortar shells. The State Department's top Africa envoy, who is to arrive... ( gunpolicy.org )
Zimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia, China
Under African Pressure, China Recalls Cargo of Zimbabwe Guns, Ammo?
SW Radio Africa (London)
22 April 2008
A controversial arms shipment from China, meant for crisis torn Zimbabwe, might have been recalled back to China following pressure from African countries that refused to allow it to dock at their ports. On Tuesday the China Ocean Shipping Company, owners of the An Yue Jiang ship, announced their vessel was coming back home. Despite Chinese claims that the delivery was 'normal military product trade,' Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, Angola, South Africa, China
US Seeks to Block Zimbabwe-bound Chinese Ammunition, Gun Shipment
Associated Press
22 April 2008
WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration is intervening with governments in southern Africa to prevent a Chinese ship carrying weapons for Zimbabwe's security forces from unloading its cargo, The Associated Press has learned. At the same time, the State Department's top Africa hand, Jendayi Frazer, plans to visit the region this week to underscore U.S. concerns about the shipment. Frazer also will try to persuade Zimbabwe's neighbors... ( gunpolicy.org )
Zimbabwe, China, South Africa, Mozambique, Angola, Namibia
Zimbabwe Bristles at Southern Africa's Rejection of Guns, Ammo Cargo
News24 (Cape Town)
22 April 2008
HARARE -- Zimbabwe bristled at criticism for buying arms from China on Tuesday, as pressure mounted on its neighbours to keep a load of weapons from reaching their destination. China said a Chinese ship carrying the shipment might return home without offloading its cargo. The ship arrived in South Africa last week carrying Chinese weapons for landlocked Zimbabwe. South African human rights, union and others groups objected,... ( gunpolicy.org )
Zimbabwe, South Africa, China
Campaign Against Zimbabwe Ammunition, Gun Shipment Gains Momentum
Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg) / SAPA
21 April 2008
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- A campaign to prevent arms currently aboard a Chinese ship from reaching Zimbabwe gained momentum on Monday with trade unions calling on their counterparts not to allow the vessel to dock at any African port. The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) called for an international boycott of the vessel. "Cosatu is doing everything possible to alert the international trade-union movement... ( gunpolicy.org )
Zimbabwe, South Africa, Angola, China
South African Court, Unions, NGOs Block Guns, Ammo Cargo to Zimbabwe
Scotland on Sunday
20 April 2008
Dockyard workers in Africa are refusing to unload a Chinese ship laden with weapons for Zimbabwe. The whereabouts of the vessel, the An Yue Jiang, were not known last night, although it was believed to be heading to Angola. Sources say the ship is carrying three million rounds of AK-47 ammunition along with 1,500 rocket-propelled grenades and several thousand mortar rounds. Dock workers in the region are expected to refuse... ( gunpolicy.org )
Italy, Libya, Chad, Sudan, China
Libya Tried to Buy 1 Million Chinese Assault Rifles, Perhaps for Chad, Sudan
Associated Press
13 April 2008
PERUGIA, Italy -- The Libyan officer tried to cloak the purpose of his call to the Italian arms dealer. "A friend," he said, wanted to buy 1 million "pieces" and 50 million items of "food." But when that phone call was placed in 2006, Italian police were listening. They knew the meaning. Libya was shopping for guns -- lots of them. Authorities shadowed the negotiations between Libyan officials and a group of black-market... ( gunpolicy.org )
China
Debt, Domestic Stress Could See Chinese Police Stripped of Handguns
Reuters
10 April 2008
BEIJING -- Police facing emotional strains due to financial or romantic problems could be stripped of their department-issued handguns in China's Jiangxi province, a newspaper reported on Thursday. The public security bureau in the province will begin inspections this month to make sure officers who have received administrative punishments, or are under investigation, will not be able to carry firearms, the Southern Metropolis Daily... ( gunpolicy.org )
Japan
Stalkers, Spouse Abusers, Bankrupts, Suicidal to Lose Their Guns in Japan
Asahi Shimbun (Japan) / IHT
4 April 2008
The National Police Agency plans to overhaul the gun control law for the first time in 28 years to keep firearms from stalkers, spouse abusers, bankrupt people and those with suicidal tendencies, sources said Thursday. The changes will also include a clause requiring a psychiatric check of applicants for gun permits "if necessary." The agency plans to submit a bill to revise the Firearms and Sword Control Law in the next... ( gunpolicy.org )
Japan
Japan: Police Could Seize Hunting Rifles for Family Violence, Stalking, Debt
Mainichi Daily News
3 April 2008
The National Police Agency (NPA) is seeking a legal ban on those involved in stalking incidents or domestic violence from possessing hunting guns, agency officials said. The NPA is expected to submit a bill during the next Diet session to revise the Firearms and Swords Control Law to include involvement in stalking incidents and domestic violence as grounds for disqualification for possessing hunting guns. Under the current... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Afghanistan, Iraq, China
US Army Accuses Miami Gun Dealer of Fraud in $200m Afghan Ammo Deal
New York Times
28 March 2008
When the United States Army decided this week to suspend the main supplier of munitions to Afghan security forces from future federal work, it did so after a field investigation documented what it called an act of fraud. Last Nov. 25, the president of the company, Efraim E. Diveroli, signed papers certifying that 28 pallets of ammunition for Afghanistan had been manufactured by MFS 2000, a Hungarian company, according to the investigators'... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Afghanistan, China
US Suspends Miami 22yr-old in $200m China-Afghan Guns, Ammo Ripoff
CNN
28 March 2008
WASHINGTON -- U.S. investigators are looking into accusations that a company hired by the U.S. military supplied corroded and decades-old Chinese ammunition to the Afghan Army and police. The U.S. government has suspended AEY Inc. of Miami, Florida for violating its contract, according to U.S. Army documents obtained by CNN. And the House Oversight Committee plans to hold a hearing into the matter on April 17. "The... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Afghanistan, China, Albania, Iraq
US Offers 22yr-old Miami Man $300m for Old, Often Dud Afghan War Ammo
New York Times
27 March 2008
Since 2006, when the insurgency in Afghanistan sharply intensified, the Afghan government has been dependent on American logistics and military support in the war against Al Qaeda and the Taliban. But to arm the Afghan forces that it hopes will lead this fight, the American military has relied since early last year on a fledgling company led by a 22-year-old man whose vice president was a licensed masseur. With the award... ( gunpolicy.org )
Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, China
Demand for Guns Soars in Lebanon - Detailed Survey of Availability, Costs
Al-Hayat (London) / BBC Worldwide Monitoring, Transcript
18 March 2008
BEIRUT -- The Lebanese are talking these days about the phenomenon of the spread of weapons and the increasing trade in them. Many say this is a prelude to the ignition of rounds of warfare with the looming shadows of the sharp political and sectarian split seen on the Lebanese arena. Al-Hayat prepared a report on this phenomenon. It met weapons merchants, political activists, and civilians who revealed that the weapons market in Lebanon... ( gunpolicy.org )
China, Sudan
China Denies Dramatic Increase in Assault Weapon sales to Sudan, Darfur
Associated Press
14 March 2008
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- A U.S.-based human rights group said China dramatically boosted small-arms sales to Sudan as violence escalated in Darfur. Beijing denied the group's report on Friday. The report released Thursday by Human Rights First said China is the biggest supplier of small arms to Sudan. It provided 90 percent of all the African nation's small arms acquisitions between 2004 and 2006, totaling more than $50 million.... ( gunpolicy.org )
China, Sudan
China Sold $55 Million Worth of Guns to Sudan, Says Human Rights Group
Agence France Presse
13 March 2008
BEIJING -- China is the biggest supplier of small arms to Sudan following three years of increased sales that helped fuel violence in the African nation's Darfur region, a US-based rights group has said. From 2004 to 2006, China sold over 55 million dollars worth of small arms to the Sudanese government, which then armed the Arab militias accused of genocide in Darfur, Human Rights First said in a report released on Thursday. ... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, China
Guns in US 'Serious Threat to Life, Security' - China's Human Rights Report
China View (Beijing)
13 March 2008
BEIJING -- The Information Office of China's State Council issued "The Human Rights Record of the United States in 2007" on Thursday, revealing about 30,000 people die from gun wounds every year in the United States. The United States has an estimated 250 million privately-owned firearms, the largest number in the world, according to the Chinese report. "Frequent gun violence poses a serious threat to people's life and... ( gunpolicy.org )
Japan
Japanese Worry As More Licensed Guns Used in Murder, Family Violence
BBC News
27 February 2008
TOKYO -- Japan is not a country you associate with serious crime. It has one of the lowest crime rates in the world, but figures published recently suggest the number of shootings here rose by a quarter last year, the first rise in five years. Gangsters were blamed for two-thirds of the attacks but many Japanese are worried that, increasingly, licensed guns are being used for murder too. In 2006 just two people... ( gunpolicy.org )
Sudan, China, Chad, Austria
Guns, Grenade Launchers in Chad, Darfur Traced Back to China, Austria
Mother Jones (USA)
22 February 2008
My first glimpse into the flow of small arms into Darfur began at 4:45 on a February morning in 2006. The lights were off in the first-class Sudan Airways lounge at Khartoum International Airport. Sitting to my left was Abdallah, resplendent in white robes, sporting spectacles and a sharply trimmed goatee. Back then, Abdallah's younger brother, Mahamat Nour, was the leader of an 8,000-man rebel force sworn to overthrow the government of... ( gunpolicy.org )
Japan
2,885 Japanese Gun Owners Surrender 4,467 Weapons After One Rampage
Asahi Shimbun (Japan)
8 February 2008
Gun owners are turning in their licenses for thousands of weapons following public outrage over a shooting incident at a sports club in Nagasaki Prefecture last December that left two people dead, the National Police Agency said Thursday. The NPA said a total of 2,885 gun owners have opted to return their licenses for 4,467 weapons and have either sold or disposed of the guns. Of the total, 90 gun owners who had come to... ( gunpolicy.org )
Japan
Japanese Police Visit 65,000 Gun Owners, Declare 90 Unfit to Own Firearms
Daily Yomiuri (Japan)
8 February 2008
Ninety gun owners were ordered to return their gun licenses and 145 firearms as of Jan. 31, after being judged unfit to possess them under police inspections conducted in the wake of a shooting rampage in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, in December, it has been learned. The inspections were conducted nationwide by prefectural police headquarters on people who possess hunting guns -- shotguns and rifles -- and air guns. The... ( gunpolicy.org )
Japan
66 Shootings, Mainly Non-fatal, Across Japan in 2007 - Up From 53 in 2006
Reuters
7 February 2008
TOKYO -- The number of shootings in Japan rose in 2007 for the first time in six years, police said on Thursday, in a review of a year that included the assassination of a city mayor and gun use involving rival gangsters. Shootings rose to 66 compared with a record low of 53 in 2006, the National Police Agency said in a report. The figure was up for the first time since 2001. "There was an increase in confrontations between... ( gunpolicy.org )
Japan
Japanese Police Visit, Check 175,000 Gun Owners to Lessen Massacre Risk
Bloomberg (USA)
30 January 2008
TOKYO -- Japan's National Police Agency ordered checks on all registered firearms after two people were shot to death at a gym in southern Japan in December, the Asahi newspaper reported. Police departments plan to complete checks by the end of March, the newspaper reported, without saying who provided the information. Statistics show about 175,000 people in Japan had permits to own about 340,000 firearms as of 2006, the newspaper... ( gunpolicy.org )
China
China Tries 12 Men Accused of Manufacturing Firearms, Trafficking Guns
China Daily (Beijing)
24 January 2008
Twelve members of a notorious crime gang went on trial yesterday in the Guangdong provincial capital. Reading aloud from an 11-page indictment, the prosecution accused Deng Weibo and Gong Nanmin, the two leaders of the gang, and their cohorts of organizing secret societies, illegally producing, owning and trading weapons, gathering to engage in fights, injuring and blackmailing people and other serious crimes between the second... ( gunpolicy.org )
China
Chinese Hunting Park Dreams of More Guns, Looser Gun Control
Reuters
12 January 2008
YUQUAN, China -- In a frigid forest in northeastern China, sub-zero temperatures and thick snow aren't enough to dampen tourists' enthusiasm for firing a few rounds at farm-raised animals let loose in the wild. Yuquan International Hunting Field in Heilongjiang province draws more than 100,000 domestic tourists a year, many traveling thousands of miles to get their hands on a rifle or shotgun for the first time in a country where... ( gunpolicy.org )
Japan
Japan's National Police Urge Gun Owners to Store Weapons with Dealers
Yomiuri Shimbun (Japan)
23 December 2007
Responding to the shooting rampage at a sports club in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, on Dec. 14, the National Police Agency told the Metropolitan Police Department and prefectural police headquarters Friday to urge owners of hunting guns and air rifles to deposit their guns at gun dealers instead of storing them at their homes. According to the NPA, about 175,000 people were licensed to own about 339,000 shotguns and rifles for hunting... ( gunpolicy.org )
Japan
Japanese PM Orders Gun Control Audit: All Gun Owners To Be Re-assessed
Japan Today / Kyodo
22 December 2007
TOKYO -- Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on Friday ordered ministers in his cabinet to formulate measures to reinforce the nation's gun controls following the fatal shooting rampage on Dec. 14 in Nagasaki Prefecture, Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said. Following Fukuda's order made during a ministerial meeting on fighting crime, National Public Safety Commission Chairman Shinya Izumi said he plans to conduct overall inspections... ( gunpolicy.org )
Japan
Shooting Puts Gun Law, Ownership, Proliferation Under Scrutiny in Japan
Asahi Shimbun (Japan)
20 December 2007
With nearly 340,000 guns legally circulating in Japan, Friday's shooting in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, has inevitably raised questions about gun control. The case also drove home to many that incidents involving firearms, such as those often reported in "gun societies" like the United States, can occur in Japan. Only a tiny fraction of applications to own a gun are rejected, and once a permit is given, it is rarely revoked.... ( gunpolicy.org )
Japan
Japan's PM Says Gun Control Just a Part of Comprehensive Violence Plan
Kyodo News (Japan)
18 December 2007
TOKYO -- Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on Monday emphasized the importance of considering ways to secure public safety in a comprehensive manner following the fatal shooting rampage last week in Nagasaki Prefecture. "We must consider carefully the issues such as the criteria for use of guns and their management, but if we were to ask whether just controlling guns would make things perfect, the incident at Ikeda elementary comes to... ( gunpolicy.org )
Japan
Japanese Killer Was Licensed Gun Owner: Tougher Gun Laws Called for
Yomiuri Shimbun (Japan)
17 December 2007
Friday's shooting rampage in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, was just the latest tragedy involving a legally owned gun. The incident comes after little progress has been made in toughening up the rules governing eligibility for gun ownership. The Sasebo shooting has also sparked questions about why the suspect had been allowed to own guns even after neighbors had raised alarm about his odd behavior. Blame lies partly with a fault in... ( gunpolicy.org )
Japan
Japan to Review Gun Control Laws After Gym Shooting, Says Prime Minister
Agence France Presse
17 December 2007
TOKYO -- Japan will review its gun control laws following last week's deadly shooting at a sports club in western Japan, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said Monday. A man opened fire Friday night at a private gym in Sasebo, western Japan, killing two people and injuring six. "No matter what the reason is, we should not let such a crime happen at any cost," Fukuda told reporters. "There must be problems with usage... ( gunpolicy.org )
Japan
Licensed Gun Owner Kills 2, Shoots Himself at Japanese Sports Club
Agence France Presse
16 December 2007
TOKYO -- Japanese media called for tighter gun-control laws on Sunday following a deadly shooting at a sports club, which sent shockwaves through the country in which gun crimes are emerging. "We feel fear that (Japan) has turned out to be a gun society like the United States," the Yomiuri Shimbun said in an editorial. "A gun was pointed at random at the ordinary public. It was an unprecedented crime in Japan." "It is necessary... ( gunpolicy.org )
China
Skeet Shooter Shot Dead By Team Mate: Shanghai Calls for Gun Control
China Daily (Beijing)
7 December 2007
SHANGHAI -- The death of a skeet shooter who was shot by a teammate during a training session on Monday prompted authorities to hold an emergency meeting on Thursday, calling for stricter management in the civilian use of guns and bullets in the city. The death of Chen Zejun, 20, a member of Shanghai's skeet shooting reserve team, is believed to be the first case of its kind in the country since 1949. Chen was heard shouting... ( gunpolicy.org )
Japan
Japan Will Jail Armed Gangsters, Owners of Multiple Guns for Up to 15yrs
Reuters
26 November 2007
TOKYO -- Japan's parliament on Monday passed legislation strengthening gun control following a spate of shootings by gangsters, including the assassination of a city mayor in April and the recent murder of a hospital patient in a case of mistaken identity. The revision of the firearms control law is the first since 1995, and imposes heavier punishments for gun crimes committed by members of organised crime gangs. After... ( gunpolicy.org )
Taiwan
Gun Crime, Homicide Down, Weapon Seizures Up in Taiwan: Ministry
Taipei Times / CNA
29 October 2007
The number of gun crimes handled by law enforcement agencies around the country totaled 331 in the first nine months of this year, down by 30 percent, or 135 cases, from the year before, Ministry of the Interior officials said yesterday. Most of the cases involved robbery, homicide, extortion, kidnapping, offenses against personal liberty and rape or assault and battery, in that order, ministry officials said. Of the total,... ( gunpolicy.org )
Japan
Gun Crime Penalties Leap in Japan: 10yrs for Possession, 15yrs for Firing
Yomiuri Shimbun (Japan)
17 October 2007
The government approved a bill Tuesday to revise the Firearms and Swords Control Law and stiffen penalties that will now include a maximum 30 million yen fine on a person who shoots a gun on behalf of organized crime. The revision of the law, which is to be toughened for the first time since 1995, aims to make members of crime syndicates reconsider whether crime pays with the increased fines. The bill, which was approved... ( gunpolicy.org )
Japan
Stringent Gun Control Penalties Follow High-Profile Yakuza Crimes in Japan
All Headline News (USA)
17 October 2007
TOKYO -- Crime busters want to hit the yakuza crime syndicate with a heavy 30 million yen ($256,695) fine added to prison sentences for gun use, possession and manufacturing - three times what offenders now pay. It will be the most far-reaching since illegal shooting was added to the Swords and Firearms Control Law 12 years ago and follows high profile crimes across Japan this year. On Sunday, a former yakuza adviser was shot dead... ( gunpolicy.org )
Japan
Japan Hikes Gun Penalties: 15yrs for Illegal Possession, 5yrs to Life if Fired
Xinhua
16 October 2007
TOKYO -- Japan plans to revise its law to impose tougher punishment on possessing a gun or illegally firing guns, Kyodo News said Tuesday. The government adopted a bill on Tuesday to make the changes such as lifting the maximum sentence for having a gun from 10 years to 15 years, and the minimum sentence of illegally firing a gun from three to five years. The bill, if passed by the parliament, would be the first revision... ( gunpolicy.org )
China
Chinese Man Gets 19 Years Jail for Holdup, Robbery with Imitation Gun
Reuters
12 September 2007
BEIJING -- A court in southern China has jailed a 21-year-old man who used a toy gun to steal a backpack containing HK$1.7 million ($218,000) for 19 years, Xinhua news agency said on Wednesday. Xie Wei held the toy gun to a man's head in a bank carpark in Guangzhou, capital of coastal Guangdong province, and fled with the victim's backpack, the agency said. Police later caught Xie in possession of 1.61 million yuan ($214,000),... ( gunpolicy.org )
Japan
Japanese Police Charge Dead Gun Collector Over Submachine Gun, Pistol
Yomiuri Shimbun (Japan)
5 September 2007
Police will file papers Wednesday with prosecutors against a deceased man from whose house in Yokohama they seized a submachine gun, a pistol and 179 rounds of ammunition in June. The man, 52, died of an unnamed disease at his home in Isogo Ward, on May 28, and his sister, 55, and nephew, 26, found a 9mm automatic pistol and 159 rounds of 9mm ammunition inside a desk in a study on the first floor on June 10. The police... ( gunpolicy.org )
China
Chinese Police Call for Greater Public Help to Stamp Out Gun Trade
People's Daily (China) / Xinhua
23 August 2007
China's Ministry of Public Security (MPS) has called for greater public cooperation in helping to crack down on illegal gun production and trade. Wu Dongli, director of the ministry's public order management bureau, said in an online interview on Wednesday that a handful of rural people in remote and backward areas were illegally producing firearms to make money. The guns were sold to criminals, putting the public at serious... ( gunpolicy.org )
India, China
People's Gun AK-47 Begat Mao's Type 56 Assault Rifle, Sprayed the World
Times of India
5 August 2007
The name is Kalashnikov. Sixty years ago, Mikhail Kalashnikov, the lost son of a rich farmer was swallowed by a Siberian gulag. Then he found his calling and became a Soviet patriot by putting together eight pieces of hard wood and strong metal pipes in such a way that they could spit 600 bullets in a minute and reduce an army of men to a bloodied pulp of flesh and bones in seconds. Since then Kalashnikov's automatic, and its many offspring,... ( gunpolicy.org )
Japan
Japan Discusses New Laws, Tighter Border Control to Curb Gun Running
Japan Times / Kyodo
26 June 2007
A government project team completed Monday a package of proposals to tighten firearms restrictions in the wake of the April assassination of Nagasaki Mayor Itcho Ito and the gunning down of a riot police officer in Aichi Prefecture in May. The measures include stiffening the penalties under the gun control law and boosting surveillance and other efforts against weapons smuggling. To put them into effect, the government hopes to... ( gunpolicy.org )
Japan
Japanese Government Plans Even Tougher Gun Control Measures
Yomiuri Shimbun / AP
26 June 2007
A government study group announced a raft of emergency measures Monday to tighten control on firearms, such as stiffening penalties for people who violate the Firearms and Swords Control Law and establishing a seaborne trade regulatory center at the customs authority. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ordered relevant government offices to tighten gun control in May, in light of a number of incidents such as the fatal shooting of Nagasaki... ( gunpolicy.org )
Japan
Despite Tight Gun Control, Gun Crime Headlines Mar Japan's Safe Image
Japan Times
5 June 2007
Japan, whose strict gun controls have long helped its image as the safest industrialized nation, has recently seen its reputation slip in the wake of headline-making shootings. Nagasaki Mayor Itcho Ito was gunned down by a yakuza during his re-election campaign on April 17; a mobster holed himself up April 20 in an apartment in Machida, western Tokyo, after fatally shooting a fellow yakuza; a former gangster in Nagakute, Aichi Prefecture,... ( gunpolicy.org )
Japan
With Only 19 Gun Homicides in 2005, Japan Holds the Line on Gun Violence
Japan Times
3 May 2007
On the morning of April 17, I received an apprehensive telephone call from a Japanese friend, a former employee of a foreign TV news bureau here. Initial bulletins from Blacksburg, Virginia, were reporting that the shooter at Virginia Tech appeared to be a young Asian male. "Do you think he could be Japanese?" she asked. I unhesitatingly ruled this out. First of all, I told her, the percentages were completely against it.... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Germany, Australia, World
Shooting Massacres Often Bring Tough Gun Controls Around the World
Associated Press
30 April 2007
After a loner armed with assault weapons turned a scenic resort into a mass of mangled bodies and thrashing injured in 1996, Australia took quick and decisive action. Twelve days later, the government pushed through a tough ban on semiautomatic rifles. Australia, which had been bloodied by 13 mass shootings in the 15 years that preceded the slaughter in Port Arthur, Tasmania, hasn't seen one since. Gun control proponents... ( gunpolicy.org )
Japan
Japan Tightens Gun Control Guidelines to Prevent Illegal Firearm Imports
Associated Press
25 April 2007
TOKYO -- Japan adopted stricter gun control guidelines today following a spate of gangster shootings that rattled a nation renowned for its crime-free streets, a government official said. The measures are intended to reduce the smuggling of guns into Japan by organized crime groups and focus on getting rid of guns already in circulation, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Hakubun Shimomura said. "Most of the guns that are confiscated... ( gunpolicy.org )
Japan
Former Legionnaire and Wife Held in Japan on Gun Running Charges
Asahi Shimbun (Japan)
24 April 2007
A former Japanese member of the French Foreign Legion and his wife were arrested on suspicion of possessing firearms that were likely smuggled into the country, police said Monday. Three others, including a company president in Kanagawa Prefecture, were arrested for allegedly buying and possessing the weapons. Police said they have also obtained an arrest warrant for another man suspected of buying a handgun from the former... ( gunpolicy.org )
China
China Vows to Maintain Strict Controls on Guns in Wake of Virginia Massacre
China Daily
23 April 2007
Public Security Ministry spokesman Wu Heping on Friday said China would maintain strict controls on guns, while responding to the deadly rampage at a US university on Monday. "I would like to express my deep sympathy and condolences to the victims of the tragedy in the United States, which claimed the lives of many young students," Wu told China Daily. Wu said the tragedy also throws into focus gun ownership in China. ... ( gunpolicy.org )
Japan
Illegal Guns Flourish in Japan, Police Befuddled by Gang Shootings
Asahi Shimbun (Japan) / IHT
23 April 2007
Two fatal street shootings by gangsters within a week -- one in Nagasaki and the other in the Tokyo area -- have shattered the illusion that Japan is a country largely free of gun-related crime. One estimate says there are 50,000 illegal guns in Japan. The problem, police say, is that it is getting harder to know where to find the weapons. Almost all are believed to be in the possession of crime syndicates, which... ( gunpolicy.org )
Japan
Japan Eyes Tighter Gun Control Rules After Yakuza Shootings
Associated Press
20 April 2007
TOKYO -- Japan's government said Friday that it will consider tightening gun-control rules after the murder of Nagasaki's mayor, as a new gun death rattled the country. A man was shot dead outside a shop in suburban Tokyo, just three days after the mayor was gunned down in Nagasaki in a killing that has stunned a nation priding itself on its safety record. Underworld gangs are linked to most gun violence here, including... ( gunpolicy.org )
Japan
Mobster Shot Nagasaki's Mayor, But Deaths by Gunshot Still Rare in Japan
Associated Press
20 April 2007
When Nagasaki's mayor was gunned down, it was not much of a surprise that a gangster was arrested. In a country where regular citizens face strict gun laws, the mob does most of the shooting. Itcho Ito, 61, died early Wednesday after being shot twice in the back Tuesday evening. Tetsuya Shiroo, a senior member of the top underworld syndicate, Yamaguchi-gumi, was captured at the scene and owned up to the assassination, police said.... ( gunpolicy.org )
China
China Will Learn from Virginia Shooting, Tighten Gun Laws, Says Official
Xinhua
19 April 2007
A senior Chinese police official on Thursday said China's police would learn from the Virginia campus shooting and take measures to tighten gun control. "The tragedy in the U.S. has affected many lives of young students. We feel equally sad about that but it reminds us to strengthen management over the use of guns," said Wu Heping, the spokesman of the Ministry of Public Security, at a regular press conference. Barring... ( gunpolicy.org )
Japan
Nagasaki Mayor's Slaying Highlights Japan's Unique Gun Culture
Associated Press
19 April 2007
TOKYO -- When Nagasaki's mayor was fatally shot in southern Japan, it wasn't much of a surprise that a gangster was arrested as the suspect. In a country where regular citizens face strict gun laws, the mob does most of the shooting. Iccho Ito, 61, was shot twice in the back Tuesday evening and died early Wednesday. Tetsuya Shiroo, a senior member of Japan's largest crime syndicate, the Yamaguchi-gumi, was captured at the scene... ( gunpolicy.org )
Japan, Philippines, Taiwan
Police Meet to Combat Illegal Gun Trafficking from Philippines to Japan
Manila Standard
12 March 2007
Eight police generals will leave for Japan today for a four-day meeting on gun control in Tokyo in the wake of the Japanese' growing concerns over rising gun smuggling cases in the Asia-Pacific region. The Philippine National Police and the Japan Police will also discuss initiatives on crime scene investigations and compare notes on new strategies, techniques and equipment in dealing with criminals. Those given authority... ( gunpolicy.org )
Philippines, Taiwan
Philippine Police Connive With Licensed Dealers to Smuggle Guns to Taiwan
Manila Standard
5 March 2007
Some police officers appear to be conniving with gun dealers in smuggling guns to Taiwan and other countries in Asia, documents show. Investigators have recorded two cases of gun smuggling into Taiwan -- one on Oct. 5, 2000, and another on July 13, 2006 -- of 214 high-powered firearms from the Philippines. In both cases, police were able to track down five of 150 units of the British-made Heckler & Koch MP5A sub-machine guns, which... ( gunpolicy.org )
Malta, Iraq, Italy, Libya, China, Russia
Maltese Company, Libya, China Accused of Gun Running to Iraqi Insurgents
Independent (Malta)
15 February 2007
Italian authorities yesterday announced they had interrupted an international arms trafficking deal that was to have operated between China, Malta, Italy and Libya, and which planned to supply hundreds of thousands of weapons to Iraqi insurgents, international media reported yesterday. The operation was to have seen an unnamed Maltese company acting as a middleman between Chinese weapons producers and Libyan buyers, who would, in... ( gunpolicy.org )
China
China Considers Tightening Gun Laws, Improving Firearms Enforcement
Shanghai Daily
12 February 2007
China's Ministry of Public Security is studying the feasibility of revising its gun law for better management and implementation, Legal Daily reported today. The gun law plays an important role in maintaining social security and controlling the use of guns, but some authorities haven't managed guns according to the law or implemented the law strictly, said the Internal and Judicial Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress,... ( gunpolicy.org )
Solomon Islands, Australia, Taiwan
Guns for the Palace Guard in Solomon Islands: Australia Has Some Worries
Austral Policy Forum, Nautilus Institute, Opinion
8 February 2007
If ever there was a signal likely to invite suspicion of budding despotism, surely it's the leader of a penurious island nation racing to form a 'Close Personal Protection Unit' of armed guards for his own use. Although Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare may yet provide evidence of a convincing need, his attempt to fly a hand-picked team of 50 for weapon training in Taiwan was seen in Honiara and elsewhere as the sign of a... ( gunpolicy.org )
China
Chinese Railway Police Bust Replica Handgun Traffickers
Shanghai Daily
26 January 2007
Shanghai railway police captured 25 guns and 32 suspects accused of trading guns from southwest China to Anhui and Zhejiang provinces. On November 8, police officers found Bian Muxi and Xia Rong carrying two replica military pistols and 54 bullets on a train from Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, to Anhui's Huainan City. Bian and Xia told police that they trade guns and ammunition with another five.... ( gunpolicy.org )
Taiwan, Australia, Solomon Islands
Taiwan Rejects Australian Protests Over Solomon Islands Gun Training
Taipei Times
26 January 2007
Taiwan's assistance in training the Solomon Islands police force is based on mutual cooperation agreements reached during the first Taiwan-Pacific Allies Summit held last September, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. The ministry made the remarks in response to a story in the Sydney Morning Herald on Tuesday which said that 12 Solomon Islands police officers had been sent to Taiwan for special training. ... ( gunpolicy.org )
Solomon Islands, Australia, Taiwan
Taiwan Gun Training for Solomons PM's Personal Bodyguards Quashed
Radio New Zealand International (Pacific shortwave)
19 January 2007
A controversial plan by the Solomon Islands prime minister to allow firearms training in Taipei for his personal police bodyguards, has been quashed by the Taiwanese government. Manasseh Sogavare's government wants to rearm its police force, a move opposed by the Australian-led region assistance mission in the country. The plan has also been condemned by civil groups fearful of a return to violence and ethnic unrest in... ( gunpolicy.org )
Solomon Islands, Taiwan
Solomons Police Officers in Taiwan for Personal Protection, Gun Training
Radio New Zealand International (Pacific shortwave)
18 January 2007
The Solomon Islands Police Force has sent twelve officers to Taiwan to undergo training in close personal protection. The officers departed for Taiwan on Monday and will undertake a two week training program fully funded by the Taiwanese Government. Police personnel selected for future duty with the Close Personal Protection Unit will receive training in security movements for VIP's, specialist driving skills, firearms,... ( gunpolicy.org )
Solomon Islands, Australia, Taiwan
Taiwan Pulls Solomons Police Gun Training in Wake of Australian Protest
Sydney Morning Herald / AAP
18 January 2007
A controversial plan by the Solomon Islands prime minister to have his personal police bodyguards given firearms training in Taipei has been quashed by the Taiwanese government. Manasseh Sogavare's government wants to rearm its police force, a move opposed by the Australian-led region assistance mission in the island nation. The rearming plan has also been condemned by civil groups fearful of a return to violence and ethnic... ( gunpolicy.org )
South Korea
Gun Control Enforcement, Crossbow Shooting Spark Debate in South Korea
Korea Times (Seoul)
17 January 2007
Concerned voices are rising over poor gun control as crimes using guns, rifles and crossbows recently hit the news. A man who shot his ex-girlfriend last December over her change of heart and a bank robber threatening people with guns last October alarmed many people, but the government has not yet come up with a way to control the illegal possession or misuse of weapons. A former university professor, who shot the presiding... ( gunpolicy.org )
China
Chinese Police Destroy 194 Illegal Gun Factories, 178,000 Guns, Ammo
People's Daily (China) / Xinhua
16 December 2006
Chinese police have destroyed 194 illegal gun factories and shops in a crackdown on weapons and explosives between June and September. In a news release to Xinhua on Friday, the Ministry of Public Security disclosed details on the three-month crackdown on explosives, guns, ammunition and forbidden knives. Police seized 3,900 tons of explosives, 7.77 million detonators, 4.83 million meters of fuse, 178,000 guns, 638,000... ( gunpolicy.org )
China
To Reduce Demand for Illegal Guns, China Speeds Antipoverty Measures
People's Daily / Xinhua
15 December 2006
Serving a two-year jail term for gun-running, Xu Junyou longs for freedom and an honest job in Guangdong Province, south China's economic powerhouse. Xu had been a farmer in Songtao Miao Autonomous County, of the southwestern Guizhou Province, before his conviction. "I know it's a crime to sell guns," Xu says, "but the rewards were too tempting -- it was as much as my family can earn in three months." Two hundred... ( gunpolicy.org )
China
New Chinese Police Revolver Designed to Immobilise, Not Necessarily to Kill
Xinhua
7 December 2006
ZHENGZHOU -- China's first gun specially designed for police, a nine-millimeter revolver, has been tested in a special police unit in central China's Henan Province. The police can use the revolver, which fires antipersonnel and rubber bullets, to subdue criminals and disperse riots in a range of 50 meters, said Wang Pusheng, a training official with the special police unit of Zhengzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau. The... ( gunpolicy.org )
China
Ammunition Smugglers Could Face Death Penalty: Chinese Supreme Court
Xinhua
16 November 2006
China's Supreme People's Court on Thursday announced that anyone found smuggling more than ten artillery shells across the country's borders would receive the death penalty or life imprisonment. According to a judicial interpretation of the criminal law on smuggling cases issued by the court, people who smuggle between five and ten conventional less-than-60-millimeter shells or grenades across the border, or no more than five more-than-60-millimeter... ( gunpolicy.org )
China, Africa
China Vows to Help Africa Combat Global Gun Trade, Fund & Train Experts
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Republic of China, Web Page
16 November 2006
I. Preamble 1.1 On 3-5 November 2006, the Beijing Summit and the Third Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) were held in Beijing. Heads of state, government and delegation as well as ministers of foreign affairs and ministers in charge of economic cooperation from China and 48 African countries (hereinafter referred to as "the two sides") attended the Summit and Ministerial Conference respectively.... ( gunpolicy.org )
Russia, United States, China, World
Russia Tops US, Europe, China in Gun Trade to Developing World
National Post (Toronto) / CanWest
6 November 2006
UNITED NATIONS -- Ask anyone to guess who's the biggest arms supplier to developing countries and chances are the answer will be the United States -- the world's biggest arms trader. But the latest figures on new arms deals show Russia is now the biggest peddler of weapons to what used to be called the Third World, and the United States comes in third behind France. In fact, when it comes to sub-Saharan Africa, host to... ( gunpolicy.org )
Vietnam, China
Gun Runners Stole 68 Vietnam Government Pistols for Sale to China: Police
Vietnam Bridge / SGGP
29 October 2006
50 people appeared Friday in Tuyen Quang Province People's Court on charges of illegal weapons trading, drug smuggling and bribery. Taking advantage of a careless supervisor, a storeman at a Ministry of Public Security armory managed to steal 65 K54 pistols, three K59 pistols and 82 K54 bullets from 2002 to 2004. Nguyen Manh Duc was arrested while trying to send the stolen weapons to his accomplices to smuggle into China.... ( gunpolicy.org )
China, Pakistan
China Passes Death Sentences on Pakistan-China Gun Runners
China Daily / Reuters
26 October 2006
A court in western China has upheld death sentences against two leaders of a gun-running racket that reached into neighbouring Pakistan, state media reported on Wednesday. Last October, Ma Zeying and Zhang Chenming were sentenced to death by Haidong District Court in China's Qinghai province for illegally buying, shipping and selling guns in China's biggest gun-running case. It said the gang bought 914 guns and 1,556 gun... ( gunpolicy.org )
Taiwan, Indonesia
Indonesian Seaman Caught Smuggling Handguns in Taiwanese Port
Taipei Times
5 October 2006
Investigators yesterday arrested an Indonesian man attempting to enter the country with five pistols. Shih Tung-liang, an official at the Kaohsiung branch of the Bureau of Investigation, told a press conference yesterday that an Indonesian man named Lutfirahman, a crew member on a commercial transport ship, attempted to enter Kaohsiung International Port with the pistols. Investigators arrested him portside. The pistols... ( gunpolicy.org )
Australia, China
Australian Gun Inventor 'Offered $US100m' to Take Technology to China
Australian (Sydney)
29 September 2006
The inventor of a potentially devastating new weapons system has said the Australian government has underestimated the determination of the Chinese army to acquire the technology. Mike O'Dwyer, the Brisbane-based inventor of Metal Storm -- an electronic system which enables guns to fire at up to one million rounds a minute -- has told the Nine Network's Sunday program he received an offer of US$100 million to take the technology... ( gunpolicy.org )
World, South East Asia
World Maritime Organisation Warns Against Guns on Ships to Shoot Pirates
Reuters
20 September 2006
KUALA LUMPUR -- The chief of the world maritime body made a strong plea yesterday for merchant ships travelling in pirate-infested waters to resist the temptation of carrying firearms to fight off attacks. Efthimios Mitropoulos, secretary-general of the International Maritime Organisation, said vessels that carried such weapons could make themselves targets of pirates hoping to seize the guns and use them for unlawful purposes.... ( gunpolicy.org )
China
China Busts 100 Gun Factories, Arrests Thousands in 3-month Campaign
Agence France Presse
12 September 2006
BEIJING -- Chinese police have busted more than 100 underground gun factories and arrested thousands of suspects in a nationwide crackdown on illegal weapons, state media said Tuesday. But police also said violent crimes involving the use of guns and explosives had dropped markedly in recent years, Xinhua news agency said, quoting the Ministry of Public Security. In a three-month campaign that began in June, police cracked down... ( gunpolicy.org )
China
Chinese Police Destroy 113 Illegal Gun Factories, Seize 117,000 Guns
Xinhua
12 September 2006
BEIJING -- The Chinese police have destroyed 113 illegal gun factories and shops in a three-month crackdown on weapons and explosives, the ministry of public security said Tuesday. Police also charged 1,794 people for illegally possessing explosives, guns or knives during that period. "From June 2 to Sep 10, police dealt with 48,393 people suspected of possessing explosives, guns or knives. Of these, 4,684 were arrested... ( gunpolicy.org )
China
China Seizes 100,000 Illegal Guns, Catches Airgun Sellers in Internet Sales
Beijing News / Xinhua / AFP / Reuters
8 September 2006
Chinese police have arrested 41 people for trafficking firearms on the internet, amid a nationwide crackdown involving the confiscation of more than 100,000 illegal guns, state press said yesterday. In the first case of online gun trading to surface in China, Beijing police have arrested three sellers and 38 potential buyers who agreed to purchase and pay for the arms over the internet, the Beijing News reported. A total... ( gunpolicy.org )
India, Bangladesh, China
Indian Gangsters Use Chinese Handguns Smuggled Through Bangladesh
Daily News & Advertiser (Mumbai)
1 September 2006
KOLKATA -- After consumer goods, cheap Chinese small arms like pistols and revolvers smuggled across the Bangladesh border have begun to find many takers among gangsters. So much so that the West Bengal police believe that these Chinese small arms smuggled into the state through the Bangladesh border at Bongaon in North 24 Parganas district have replaced the traditional home made single or two-shooter pistols or 'pipe guns' that... ( gunpolicy.org )
China
Police Seize, Destroy 26,836 Illegal Guns in China's Guangdong Province
China Daily
23 August 2006
Guangdong police have promised to continue efforts to fight the illegal possession and use of guns and deal with related criminal cases. He Guifu, director of the Social Security Department under the Guangdong Provincial Bureau of Public Security, yesterday hinted that more special campaigns would be launched to collect illegal guns and ammunition in the near future. "Such special campaigns have been aimed at ensuring good... ( gunpolicy.org )
Japan, Philippines
Crime Boss Arrested in Philippine-Japan Yakuza Gun Running Probe
Japan Times / AP / Kyodo
22 August 2006
Tokyo police on Monday arrested a crime boss whose gang allegedly spearheaded an operation to smuggle guns and explosives from the Philippines into Japan. The Metropolitan Police Department said Tadashi Matsuda, 43, was arrested on suspicion of violating firearms control laws. Matsuda's gang -- part of the Tokyo-based Inagawa-kai, Japan's third-largest crime syndicate -- has been under investigation for allegedly smuggling... ( gunpolicy.org )
China
China Asks Gun Toting Tourists to Bid for Rare Animal They Want to Kill
Independent (UK)
10 August 2006
BEIJING -- Visitors to China will be allowed to hunt an array of weird and wonderful wild animals, including endangered species, if they secure a hunting licence in an auction at the weekend. Would-be hunters can bid to stalk their prey in the Shaanxi, Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia and Xinjiang provinces in western China. The only predator on the list is a wolf, and a licence to hunt man's oldest enemy is expected to sell for... ( gunpolicy.org )
China, World
China Will Auction Endangered Species Shooting Rights Only to Foreigners
Reuters
9 August 2006
BEIJING -- China is to auction licenses to foreigners to hunt wild animals, including endangered species, a newspaper said on Wednesday. The government would auction licenses based on types and numbers of wild animals, ranging from about $200 for a wolf, the only carnivore on the list, to as much as $40,000 for a yak, the Beijing Youth Daily said. The auction, taking place on Sunday in Chengdu, capital of the southwestern... ( gunpolicy.org )
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