Stabbed 17 people, killed seven.
"The assault, which occurred on the seventh anniversary of a mass stabbing at a Japanese elementary school, was the latest in a series of knife attacks that have stoked fears of rising violent crime in Japan.
"In March, one person was stabbed to death and at least seven others were hurt by a man who went on a slashing spree with two knives outside a shopping mall in eastern Japan. In January, a 16-year-old boy attacked five people in a shopping area, injuring two of them."
I bet a "knife free zone" would have stopped this. Not. How about a few armed citizens?
Firearms are basically outlawed in Japan yet we still see mass killings by nutjobs.
You will never be able to prevent these crimes by deranged people, and somehow I don't see Japanese lawmakers blaming this on the knife - at least I hope not.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080608/...japan_stabbing