ms, and leading politicians have been effective in wielding political influence in Japan from time-to-time, and on specific issues, this action has not seriously undermined the values of stability and consensus sought in Japanese politics (Neff, Magnusson, and Holstein 50). In the maintenance of stability and consensus in the Japanese political environment, the elite continue to play the leading role. Most members of the Japanese elite are graduates of the Tokyo University law department. Thus, while outside groups do occasionally exert significant political influence in Japan, the underlying leadership structure in the country has not undergone significant modification in the past century.
Violence involving the use of firearms is not a characteristic of Japanese culture. In 1990 as an example, handguns killed 22 people in the United Kingdom, 68 people in Canada, 87 people in Japan, and 10,567 people in the United States (Rosado 21).
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