I mean Japan's political situation is kind of weird. The LDP has basically been in power forever (with super brief interruptions). It lost power recently though so we'll see what happens I guess. IIUC tho anti-immigrant sentiment is rising (at least partly fueled by the massive waves of shitty tourists IMO), which prob isn't a great sign based on what's been happening in other countries.

That makes sense from an outside perspective, sure. But your criticism was about Americans turning a blind eye to the "cultural" problem.

Within the US, blaming gun violence on "culture" means pointing out that 13-17% of the population commits (and are the victims of) 55-65% of the murders. Blaming "culture" means pointing out that mass shooters are predominantly white, they also account for less than 1% of all murders.

The Americans broadly adopting your "cultural problem" argument are MAGAts. Normal Americans are turning a blind eye to that viewpoint, rather than being lumped in with those racist pricks.

So that's part of the same point. They COULD have access to guns and could shoot each other, but nobody wants to. Thus guns are only a problem when there’s other underlying issues.

I mean, so are most of us at this point. Though working to buy more guns and stuff for "freedom" is peak irony.

Same. Very few people know I own one and have a concealed license. Made sure the gf knew how to shoot and that she wouldn't hesitate to use it if necessary. But that's it. Been locked away at least since Valentine's last year when we went to shoot.

how do you use it in a home invasion in the middle of the night if it's locked up and unloaded?

No, you'll know gun culture when you see it. The people that put the stupid stickers all over the car, the firearm brands, the calibers, stuff like that, becomes a major part of their personality.

Like the other commenter said, you would never know that I even own a gun unless we were pretty damn close.

I don't really have a solid answer for you. I think it started growing up where my dad had guns, rifles, in the army but he was super protective of them, he wouldn't show them to us, he wouldn't let us see them at all, he wouldn't teach us about them so I was just genuinely curious. So when I moved out that was the first thing I bought.

And I hated the gun laws here, you can buy and sell guns just like you're selling a car, just do a bill of sale. There's no background check for secondhand guns. i bought my first one at a metro stop in DC area, rode the train out, guy pulled up to the metro parking lot and we traded. i mean we took pictures of each other's IDs and did a bill of sale, but beyond that, nothing.

Mine doesn't really ever come out of lockup unless we're camping or going on a long road trip. I haven't carried it in years and I think my license might even be expired at this point. I'm not scared, maybe wildlife, I'm near the Appalachian Mountains. I don't carry it around to intimidate anybody, or try to use it for coercion. But I guess the fascination has just always been there since it was withheld growing up.

Ah, that makes more sense.