• Japan's former prime minister was shot dead on Friday.
  • The assassination has shocked Japan, which has strict gun laws that make it hard to procure firearms.
  • One expert told CNN that Japanese people can't imagine a US gun culture and "This is a speechless moment."

Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe died after he was shot while giving a campaign speech on Friday.

The assassination — which appeared to be with a homemade gun — has shocked Japan, a country with one of the world's lowest rates of gun crime and strict laws around procuring firearms.

This graph shows how low firearm homicide rates were in Japan between 1990 and 2019 compared to the US:

A graph comparing the firearm homicide rates in Japan and the US between 1990 and 2019. Foto: Our World in Data

And this graph shows homicide rates from firearms for the same time period in Japan, the US, Canada, Europe:

A graph showing the firearm homicide rate between Japan and other countries between 1990 and 2019. Foto: Our World in Data

Japan makes it difficult to procure firearms

People can't buy handguns in Japan, only shotguns and air rifles, as Insider previously reported..

Procuring those weapons also requires a number of steps, including:

  • Attending an all-day class
  • Passing a written test
  • Passing a mental-health evaluation
  • Passing a background check, including interviews with friends and family
  • Getting at least 95% accuracy during a shooting-range test

People also have to resit the class and re-take the test every three years as their gun license expires.

The low gun-violence rate in Japan is also created by cultural factors.

Nancy Snow, Japan director of the International Security Industrial Council, told CNN that the shooting had shocked Japan.

"It's not only rare, but it's really culturally unfathomable," she said.

"The Japanese people can't imagine having a gun culture like we have in the United States. This is a speechless moment. I really feel at a loss for words."

She added: "What this will do to the national psyche of a people who move about freely and have a social contract with each other, that they will not resort to this type of violence … I am devastated thinking about that."

Read the original article on Business Insider