Claim: The school shooting rate in non-Christian Japan is vastly lower than that of mostly Christian Texas.
Verdict: SUPPORTS

Retrieved passages:
title: Human rights in Japan
text: the police reported 13,037 cases of child abuse including sexual abuse and death. Incidents of violence in schools, severe bullying ("ijime") and bullycide also continued to be a societal and government concern. According to the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry, public elementary school children committed a record 1,777 violent acts in the 2003 academic year, an increase of 27% from the previous school year, including acts of violence committed both on and off school grounds. In all 35,392 violent acts were committed in public elementary, junior high, and high schools during the 2003 academic year. Overall, cases of

title: Gun violence
text: similarly wealthy nations with strict gun control laws, such as Japan, the United Kingdom, or South Korea, the United States has an overall rate of firearms death per capita, which is 50–100 times greater than many of its peers. The high rates of gun violence in the United States, which has the highest rate of gun-related deaths per capita among developed countries, despite having the highest number of police officers, is sometimes thought to be attributable to its extreme rate of gun ownership, as it is the only nation in which guns exceed people. Nearly all studies have found a

title: Religion in Japan
text: million Christians in Japan, most of them living in the western part of the country, where the missionaries' activities were greatest during the 16th century. Nagasaki Prefecture has the highest percentage of Christians: about 5.1% in 1996. As of 2007 there are 32,036 Christian priests and pastors in Japan. Throughout the latest century, some Western customs originally related to Christianity (including Western style weddings, Valentine's Day and Christmas) have become popular among many of the Japanese. For example, 60-70% of weddings performed in Japan are Christian-style. Islam (イスラム教 "Isuramukyō") in Japan is mostly represented by small immigrant communities from other

title: Christianity in Japan
text: one of the most secular nations in the world according to the World Values Survey. While there may be up to 3 million Japanese Christians, Christianity in Japan is spread among many denominational affiliations. 70 percent of Japanese churches have an average attendance of less than 30, though membership is often double this figure. The celebration of selected Christian holidays has gained popularity in Japan since the Second World War – primarily as commercial events, but with also an emphasis on sharing time with loved ones, either significant others or close family. Except in Japan's minority Christian communities, Easter is

title: Education in Japan
text: age group of 15-24 had committed suicide, much of which was due to academic pressure. A survey by the Education Ministry showed that students at public schools were involved in a record number of violent incidents in 2007: 52,756 cases, an increase of some 8,000 on the previous year. In almost 7,000 of these incidents, teachers were the target of assault. The Japanese educational system has also been criticized for failure to foster independent thinkers with cultural and artistic sensibility. Japanese students that attend schools overseas often face difficulty adapting and competing in that environment due to lack of international

title: Marriage in Japan
text: and appropriate. Along with various Buddhist and Shinto rites, Christian wedding ceremonies are now one of the occasions where nonreligious Japanese rely on religious professionals. Nonreligious attitudes are responsible for significant transformations in Japanese Christianity and the bridal industry and the successful response of the Christian churches and the bridal industry to consumer demand has led to an explosion in Christian wedding ceremonies. The story of contemporary Japanese Christianity is one of success and failure in the face of overwhelming “nonreligiousness.” The story of failure depicts the inability of Christian churches to acquire Japanese converts; both transplant and domestic Japanese

title: Japan
text: into Japan by Jesuit missions starting in 1549. Today, fewer than 1% to 2.3% are Christians, most of them living in the western part of the country, where the missionaries' activities were greatest during the 16th century. Nagasaki Prefecture has the highest percentage of Christians: about 5.1% in 1996. , there are 32,036 Christian priests and pastors in Japan. Throughout the latest century, some Western customs originally related to Christianity (including Western style weddings, Valentine's Day and Christmas) have become popular as secular customs among many Japanese. Islam in Japan is estimated to constitute, about 80–90%, of foreign born migrants

title: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Japan
text: rooted religious and cultural belief systems that have lasted for centuries, converting to another religion was associated with becoming non-Japanese. The second event that created challenges for LDS missionaries in Japan was the Tokyo subway sarin attack by Aum Shinrikyō. This attack, which killed twelve and injured more than five thousand people, greatly affected the Japanese people. It caused fear of and a resentment to Japanese New Religions and the Japanese people had a hard time distinguishing between proselytizing LDS missionaries and New Religions. Japan is culturally and historically a non-Christian nation. This poses problems in LDS missionary work, because

title: Marriage in Japan
text: churches face aging membership and dwindling baptism numbers. In 2006, Christians accounted for 1.2 percent of the Japanese population. Similarly, Christian religious organizations accounted for a mere 2.3 percent of Japan’s 182,468 religious juridical persons. This data, along with an aging church population, led researchers to suggest that a marginal Christian population is headed for rapid decline. However, these statistics on Christian affiliation do not account for the unprecedented popularity of Christian wedding ceremonies or address how nonreligiousness has altered Japanese Christianity. The growing popularity of Christian weddings dates back to two events in the 1980s. The first was the

title: Japan
text: just 18 refugees for resettlement, while the United States took in 76,000. Japan suffers from a high suicide rate. In 2009, the number of suicides exceeded 30,000 for the twelfth successive year. Suicide is the leading cause of death for people under 30. Primary schools, secondary schools and universities were introduced in 1872 as a result of the Meiji Restoration. Since 1947, compulsory education in Japan comprises elementary and junior high school, which together last for nine years (from age 6 to age 15). Almost all children continue their education at a three-year senior high school. Japan's education system played

title: Public order and internal security in Japan
text: Public order and internal security in Japan Conditions of public order in Japan compare favorably with those in other industrialized countries. The overall crime rate is low by North American and West European standards and has shown a general decline since the mid-1960s. The incidence of violent crime is especially low, due mainly to pervasive social pressure and conditioning to obey the law. Problems of particular concern are those associated with a modern industrialized nation, including juvenile delinquency, traffic control, and white-collar crime. Civil disorders occurred beginning in the early 1950s, chiefly in Tokyo, but did not seriously threaten the

title: Arad, Israel
text: for 2007, and awarded an award of excellence on 5 March 2008. Among others, a severe reduction in property crime was cited. Arad's force was able to reduce the amount of such crimes from 1,092 in 2003 to just 168 in 2007. On 18 July 2008, Arad police, in a rare incident, shot dead a man threatening to kill his ex-wife with a knife. Arad has a public elementary school in every central neighborhood (Halamish, Tlalim, Avishur, Leva'ot and Ye'elim (called Ye'elim-Ofarim)), while Tlalim is a religious school. There is one public middle school, Re'ut, located near the junction of

title: Health in Japan
text: the lowest level of dementia in the developed world. Japan's suicide rate is high compared to the USA; the "Yomiuri Shimbun" reported in June 2008 that more than 30,000 people had killed themselves every year for the past decade. A study published in 2006 suspects that health problems were a factor in almost 50 percent of Japan's suicides in 2006. However the "Yomiuri"s 2007 figures show 274 school children were among those who took their own lives. Bullying is often a factor in such cases. In 2011, suicide remained over 30,000 for the 14th year running. One of the biggest

title: Marriage in Japan
text: the efforts made by traditional Christian churches and the bridal industry to meet the religious needs and demands of Japan’s largely “nonreligious” (mushūkyō) constituency. Statistically speaking, the vast majority of contemporary Japanese self-identify as nonreligious. However, this self-identification is far from a wholesale rejection of religion, and often employed both to reject and affirm religious behaviors and identities. Most typically, nonreligious attitudes reject religious dispositions that are perceived as deviant, unhealthy, or foreign while simultaneously affirming religion’s importance. Nonreligious individuals tend to rely on religious professionals and vicariously entrust specialized acts of prayer and ritual to religious authorities when desirable

title: Public order and internal security in Japan
text: well-organized parole and probation program employs numerous citizen volunteers. Public order and internal security in Japan Conditions of public order in Japan compare favorably with those in other industrialized countries. The overall crime rate is low by North American and West European standards and has shown a general decline since the mid-1960s. The incidence of violent crime is especially low, due mainly to pervasive social pressure and conditioning to obey the law. Problems of particular concern are those associated with a modern industrialized nation, including juvenile delinquency, traffic control, and white-collar crime. Civil disorders occurred beginning in the early 1950s,

title: Christianity in Japan
text: Christians represent roughly one percent of the population, there have been eight Christian Prime Ministers in Japan. Christianity in Japan Christianity in Japan is among the nation's minority religions. Around 0.5 percent of the population claims Christian belief or affiliation. Most large Christian denominations, including Roman Catholicism, Protestantism and Orthodox Christianity, are represented in Japan today. Since the mid-1990s, the majority of Japanese, despite claiming to be nonreligious, wed in Christian-style ceremonies which has had a major impact on Japanese Christianity. The Japanese word for is a compound of kirisuto (キリスト) the Japanese adaptation of the Portuguese and Spanish word

title: Christianity in Japan
text: Christianity in Japan Christianity in Japan is among the nation's minority religions. Around 0.5 percent of the population claims Christian belief or affiliation. Most large Christian denominations, including Roman Catholicism, Protestantism and Orthodox Christianity, are represented in Japan today. Since the mid-1990s, the majority of Japanese, despite claiming to be nonreligious, wed in Christian-style ceremonies which has had a major impact on Japanese Christianity. The Japanese word for is a compound of kirisuto (キリスト) the Japanese adaptation of the Portuguese and Spanish word for Christ, and the Sino-Japanese word for , like in "Bukkyō" (仏教, Japanese for Buddhism). Japan remains

title: Gun violence
text: firearm in the world occur in low-income South and Central American countries such as Honduras, Venezuela, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala and Jamaica. The United States has the 11th highest rate of gun violence in the world, and by far the largest of any large or highly developed nation, having a gun homicide rate which is 25 times higher, an unintentional gun death rate which is 6 times higher, a firearm suicide rate which is 8 times higher, and an overall firearm death rate which is 10 times higher than the average respective rates of other high income nations. Compared to

title: 2005 Indonesian beheadings of Christian girls
text: gunmen. In May 2005, a bomb blast in the nearby town of Tentena, killed twenty-two people and injured more than thirty. Days after the killings, two 17-year-old schoolgirls were shot in the same area. Christian community leaders have repeatedly criticized the authorities for allegedly not doing enough to find the perpetrators of attacks on Christians in Sulawesi. The three teenagers were walking to a private Christian school in Central Sulawesi province with their friend Noviana Malewa, 15, when they were attacked by a group of six masked men armed with machetes. The attackers left one of the girls' heads outside

title: Education in Japan
text: in two or more. Japanese students are faced with immense pressure to succeed academically from their parents, teachers, peers and society. This is largely a result of a society that has long placed a great amount of importance on education, and a system that places all of its weight upon a single examination that has significant life-long consequences. This pressure has led to behaviors such as school violence, cheating, suicide, and significant psychological harm. In some cases, students have experienced nervous breakdowns that have required hospitalization as young as twelve. In 1991, it was reported that 1,333 people in the