A stabbing even when gun control is being toughened!!!!

I mentioned this sort of thing Monday---anytime the US media mentions crime in Japan they always refer to Japan's gun control laws whether or not the crime has anything to do with firearms or not.

The AP has thoughtfully provided an example. Yesterday, the yakuza thugs had a field day of killing one another. One was shot and one was stabbed. The AP reports:

TOKYO (AP) — A reputed organized crime leader was shot to death and his driver was fatally stabbed Tuesday in a brazen attack in southern Japan, police said, even as the country moved to toughen firearms laws....

...They also follow moves to toughen punishment for owning guns in a country that has long prided itself on crime-free streets. More here.

I can see a relationship between a shooting and firearms and perhaps gun control, but I don't get what it has to do with stabbings.

On a related note, police did find the man who stabbed a grandmother and her 2 granddaughters---age 3 and 5---to death. He was the grandmother's brother-in-law, Masonori Kawasaki. One wonders: Had he not had easy access to a knife, would these children still be alive? Would the new, tougher, gun law have prevented these murders had it been in effect earlier?

Since most gun crimes are committed by the yakuza, it would seem that even if the new gun laws work, they'll have little effect on violent crime overall. Why? Because most murders one reads/hears about are committed with knives. Kitchen knives.

So why doesn't the government do something about the readily available assortment of knives in Japan. Anyone can walk into an knife store and pick up a razor sharp knife with a 7 inch or more blade, no questions asked. Does the average citizen need a knife that big and sharp? A 4 inch blade can take care of most cooking chores. For jobs requiring bigger knives, we could have a licensed butcher do the cutting. So why doesn't the government restrict or ban these assault knives which are good for only one thing----slicing flesh. If we could save but one life, wouldn't it be worth it? Is there a knife lobby in Japan stopping such sensible legislation?

Or is murder less of a problem as long as firearms aren't involved? Or, could it be that in order to pretend to be doing something about something for which there are no easy answers, we gotta do something which won't really inconvenience anyone.

(Need I tell anyone that I am being sarcastic?)