Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07TOKYO1688
2007-04-18 02:34:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Tokyo
Cable title:
MEDIA REACTION - US GUN VIOLENCE - TOKYO
how-toVZCZCXRO8662 PP RUEHFK DE RUEHKO #1688 1080234 ZNR UUUUU ZZH P 180234Z APR 07 FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2733 RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC PRIORITY RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY RUYNAAC/COMNAVFORJAPAN YOKOSUKA JA PRIORITY RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY RHHMHBA/COMPACFLT PEARL HARBOR HI//N541// PRIORITY RHMFIUU/HQ PACAF HICKAM AFB HI//CC/PA// PRIORITY RUHBANB/OKINAWA FLD OFC US FORCES JAPAN CP BUTLER JA PRIORITY RUALSFJ/COMUSJAPAN YOKOTA AB JA PRIORITY INFO RUEHFK/AMCONSUL FUKUOKA 0719 RUEHOK/AMCONSUL OSAKA KOBE 4252 RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 6630 RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 1619 RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 2704 RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 3963 RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
UNCLAS TOKYO 001688
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
STATE FOR I/RF, PA/PR/FPC/W, IIP/G/EA, EAP/PD, R/MR,
EAP/J, EAP/P, PM;
USTR FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE;
TREASURY FOR OASIA/IMI;
SECDEF FOR OASD/PA;
CP BUTLER OKINAWA FOR AREA FIELD OFFICE;
PACOM HONOLULU FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY ADVISOR
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OIIP KMDR KPAO JA
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION - US GUN VIOLENCE - TOKYO
LEAD STORIES: All Wednesday morning papers front-paged
the assassination of Nagasaki Mayor Icho Ito, who was
shot to death by a mobster on Tuesday evening. The
dailies also front-paged the police finding that a
student from South Korea was the gunman behind Monday's
massacre at Virginia Tech.
UNCLAS TOKYO 001688
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
STATE FOR I/RF, PA/PR/FPC/W, IIP/G/EA, EAP/PD, R/MR,
EAP/J, EAP/P, PM;
USTR FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE;
TREASURY FOR OASIA/IMI;
SECDEF FOR OASD/PA;
CP BUTLER OKINAWA FOR AREA FIELD OFFICE;
PACOM HONOLULU FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY ADVISOR
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OIIP KMDR KPAO JA
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION - US GUN VIOLENCE - TOKYO
LEAD STORIES: All Wednesday morning papers front-paged
the assassination of Nagasaki Mayor Icho Ito, who was
shot to death by a mobster on Tuesday evening. The
dailies also front-paged the police finding that a
student from South Korea was the gunman behind Monday's
massacre at Virginia Tech.
¶1. "Virginia Tech Massacre: Need to Strengthen Gun
Control" The liberal Asahi editorialized (4/18): "The
massacre Monday at Virginia Tech was the deadliest
shooting rampage in modern US history, again showing that
gun-related tragedies can occur anywhere in the US....
The motive for the shooting is not immediately known,
because the suspect, believed to be a South Korean
student, killed himself.... What worries us is that the
suspect came from South Korea.... We hope that this
incident will not trigger racial animosity toward people
of Asian origin.... Although the Brady Act, which
restricts gun purchases, went into effect in 1993, it has
not done anything to decrease the number of guns....
Observers note that there has been little progress on gun
control due to the lobbying efforts of the National Rifle
Association (NRA). The NRA, which has a membership of
about 3 million gun enthusiasts, many of them well-to-do
Americans, continues to exert a tremendous influence in
the political arena. It is the common wish of people
around the world, many of whom have the opportunity to
visit the country, that the US would become a safer
place. It would also be disadvantageous for the US, a
nation that boasts of itself as a model of freedom and
democracy, to show to the world a society wracked by gun
violence. We hope that the USG, Congress, and the
American people will join hands to tackle the issue of
gun control."
SCHIEFFER