The reporting of the Japanese stabbings has apparently fallen off of the radar screens of the anti-gun news media.  If a firearm had been used, we would still being hearing about it today.
=======================================================

LA Times

http://www.latimes.com/wires/20010612/tCB00V7339.html

Tuesday, June 12, 2001
Japan Seeks Tighter School Security

Associated Press Writer

    TOKYO--Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and his Cabinet agreed
Tuesday on the need for tighter security at the nation's schools following
the fatal stabbing of eight children last week.
    But the government appeared to be divided over calls for stricter
controls over the criminally insane.
    The attack last Friday at an elementary school in the suburbs of
Osaka, Japan's second-largest city, was the worst mass-killing in Japan in
years and has generated widespread anger and shock.
    The accused killer, Mamoru Takuma, is a 37 -year-old former janitor
with a history of mental illness. Police have quoted him as saying that he
deliberately chose to kill children because he wanted to be put to death
for the crime.
    Takuma was expected to be charged with murder and attempted murder.
    Shortly after the attack, police noted that Takuma had a history of
violence, included the attempted poisoning of four teachers at another
school, and Koizumi suggested he wanted a review of Japan's laws regarding
the treatment of suspects deemed mentally ill.
    In a Cabinet meeting Tuesday, Koizumi reiterated his desire for
increased security at schools. But officials indicated a revision of the
law to provide greater controls over the mentally ill was not likely.
    "This is an issue we must consider seriously," said Justice Minister
Mayumi Moriyama. "We must consider specific ways to effectively carry out
our current laws."
    The Education Ministry, meanwhile, has instructed all elementary,
middle and high schools to re-evaluate campus security. Many have begun
closing their gates during the day.
    The school where the attack occurred, in a residential suburb, will
be closed until Wednesday.
    On Monday morning, officials and teachers reconstructed the attack
for investigators. A mental support team, with 55 experts from 10
organizations, has been set up.
    Along with the eight children killed, 13 children and two teachers
were wounded.

Copyright 2001 Los Angeles Times

the ANTI-KNIFER's are trying to ban knife's now
we need better knife control!

I'm assuming they are gonna put the tightest security into the school cafeterias.

After all, that's where all the knives are!!!!!!!!

Its like i've always said if you take all the guns away there will still be blades..........rocks....sticks.......farming tools.....implements of death..............car that goes 150 w/driver and wiskey...........etc. etc. etc.

Sorry, only chopsticks in the cafeteria.  [;)]

Chopsticks can be sharpened into punji9 sticks!

Quick, Where's HCI!

And another thing: At least we don't have nutcases releasing poison gas into our subways!

I can see a market for sharpened chopsticks now...

But seriously, if this guy wanted to be put to death, why the heck didn't he just jump in front of a train?

So was that dude's knife pre or post ban. Was it equipped with a splash hider...?

It wasn't so long ago that a Japanese man with a knife who wanted to die would take the direct approach and do himself in.  Obviously this scum knows nothing of history.

HCI for chopsticks, eh???

Would that be

H- Honed
C- Chopsticks
I- Incorporated


????????????

Having lived in many states, my most enjoyable were Texas (West-that is, where I grew up) and Alaska. Now I'm in Ca. and not exactly raving about it. I carry a small (< 3") knife in a rawhide sheath around my neck. I live in a small town and have worked and frequently volunteer at my daughter's elementary school. The other day, the Sup/Principal asked me to put my knife in my pocket. I decided to meet her halfway and said I could stick it in my belt when out on the playground with the kids, and that it is illegal to carry a fixed blade knife in my pocket. She said, "Knives are not allowed on campus, just wear it in your pocket.". This was possibly due to the Japan incident. I wear it stuck in my belt for now when I'm on campus. When I lived in Texas and Alaska, I could and did board commercial airlines with a small Schrade fixed-blade on my belt (70's - 1990). My wife seems to agree with the Supt. saying that a knife is a weapon and shouldn't be on the school grounds. What a heated debate that was! My answer is: My knife is a tool and I answer that way to any child that asks me what it is or why I wear it. I have, in my life, responded to scenes where people were attacked and sometimes killed with things like; railroad spikes, carpenter's hammers, beer bottles, pool cues, ballpoint pens,..... you get the point. A weapon is any OBJECT that is used in fighting, according to my dictionary and myself. I will do everything I can to not let them take my knife, even to the extreme of burying it in a secret location if neccessary. Seriously, there are people who would like to take knives away too. It's hard sometimes to come up with the words to say, as I remember how life used to be. I can educate my daughter, and those who will listen, but it seems harder to find those people.