Good God Man, where is Inspector Clouseau?

Only about 30 percent of nearly 2,400 stores across Japan selling knives considered highly lethal, including daggers, check the buyer's name, age and other information, the National Police Agency said Thursday.

If we can get the other 70% to do too, it will have a big impact on stabbings and slashings in Japan. Let's say that you are a nut and that you want to die so you decide to kill others so that you will get the death penalty. Wouldn't having to show your ID when you purchase your dagger stop you? Of course it would! Especially if the plan to make certain size and style of daggers illegal becomes law. (Oh. What if you decide to use a regular, freely available at your local grocer kitchen knife as most murders have been doing? Let's not think about that as it would cause confusion.)

The survey [of the shops] included daggers, survival knives, Gurkha knives and other types of blades considered likely to be used as weapons. Everyday tools such as kitchen knives and box cutters, in addition to hatchets, axes and other industrial tools, were not included. Japan Times.

24 August: And they still have not taken any action to restrict the availability of rental trucks. The Akihabara murderer used one to kill several in his rampage through the area.