Nagasaki Mayor Shot By Gangster

Reviewed by Takahiro MIYAO

Article:
Nagasaki Mayor Shot By Gangster
The Japan Times (4/18/2007)
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20070418a1.html

Comments:

It is reported in every Japanese newspaper this morning (on April 18) that Nagasaki Mayor Itcho Ito was shot by a gangster while campaigning for Sunday's mayoral election in the evening on Tuesday, April 17. As it has turned out, this incident does not seem to be directly related to the election, but rather due to the gangster's problem with the city in some personal and business matters. If so, why shooting and why now?

Then it should come to everyone's mind that the horrible shooting incident in the U.S., reported in Japan earlier on that day, might have inspired and pushed the gangster over the edge to act this way. In fact, a crime specialist on a U.S. network news program pointed out that this type of random shooting incidents could be contagious and might well happen in clusters.

Nowadays, it is a sad fact that we all should take some precautions to protect ourselves by checking suspicious individuals (not in terms of their appearance but of their behavior) and reporting to the authorities whenever appropriate. At the same time, a stricter gun control measure is called upon in every country including the U.S., which is no longer isolated from the rest of the world, especially in terms of crime activities and their impacts.

Acknowledgment:
This review is adopted from the following blog (with its Japanese translation):
http://glocom.blog59.fc2.com/blog-date-20070418.html