Chinese Man Guns Down Unidentified Chinese Woman in Tokyo

Photo of Crime Scene

It is not often that you read of homicides in Japan that involve firearms.   Firearms are tightly controlled; Japanese are some of the most law abiding people on the planet; and firearms have never been widely available.

It is not surprising that when such a homicide occurs, it involves foreigners.  In this case, a Chinese man appears to be the perpetrator and a Chinese woman the victim.   The article assumes that the victim was married to the man, but the police had not identified her.   From japantimes.co:

The pair reportedly started to quarrel after entering the cafe together. At around 10:40 p.m., the man produced a handgun from his bag, stood up and shot the woman twice, in the jaw and the chest. She was rushed to a hospital but was pronounced dead.

Another unusual part of the incident is that the suspect remained silent:

The suspect remained silent during police questioning, according to investigators.

This is very unusual behavior in Japan, where suspects usually confess immediately.   The police in Japan are not constrained by the U.S. Constitution, and have numerous ways to obtain confessions.  

I suspect organized crime involvement.   From scmp.com:

 The suspect was not apparently employed and it is very unusual for a person to be carrying a gun, which are rare in Japan. The Ikebukuro district of Tokyo also has a reputation for gang activities and has a relatively high proportion of gambling and sex businesses.

In Japan, only the police and criminals have handguns.

©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
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