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 said. Gun owners in Japan must... (GunPolicy.org)

The Utah Supreme Court ruled in 2004 that private employers can tell workers not to bring guns onto company property, including parking lots, and can fire them if they do. Some of the state's gun-rights activists have had their tails in a knot ever since, arguing that a person ought to be able to keep a gun in his own car regardless of what his boss says. We believe, however, that in this case, the private property rights of the employer should trump the property... (GunPolicy.org)

A handgun that cost a Toronto bus driver an eye in a Scarborough shooting more than two years ago is believed to have been used in at least four other shootings, including a murder of which two men were convicted this week, police said yesterday. The Belgian-made 9mm Browning that wounded TTC driver Jamie Pereira was legally registered before it was stolen, and by the time it was seized in September, 2006, had left "a trail of destruction," Police Chief Bill Blair told... (GunPolicy.org)

WASHINGTON — People wouldn't be able to buy firearms at gun shows unless they first undergo background checks under legislation Sen. Frank Lautenberg introduced today. The New Jersey Democrat introduced a similar bill in 1999. The Senate approved it by one vote. But the measure subsequently died. The current bill to close the "gun show loophole" is co-sponsored by Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., and eight other Democratic senators, including... (GunPolicy.org)

LUANDA — Angolan Home minister, Roberto Leal Monteiro "Ngongo", said Wednesday in Luanda that his institution will intensify actions to disarm the civilian population. Speaking in an interview with the State-controlled "Rádio Nacional de Angola" broadcasting station, the official said the Interior Ministry has for that purpose defined three phases for the process. He mentioned sensitising and organisation (including a seminar), voluntary surrender of weapons and... (GunPolicy.org)

OTTAWA — Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day is flatly rejecting calls for a ban on handguns, saying the Conservatives government's support for more police on the streets, and tougher laws as yet unpassed, are already putting a dent in gun crime. Day said yesterday his government's approach — including "increased (police) boots on the street" and a plan to kill the long-gun registry — has already significantly cut the number of victims of gun crimes... (GunPolicy.org)