Statistics only make sense to the person who developed the data. All agencies and governments use statistics to justify some action, but just by categorizing them into a different data group can warp the results.
Inanimate objects don't kill living beings, only living beings kill. This fact includes most people due to the fuzzy logic most people like to use to explain life. Hell, facts don't even change people's viewpoint until it is right in their face. Though murder will always be present in are society the question is what do we do about those people who commit the crime. If we put them to death we are considered uncivilized, if we cage them up we are considered inhumane and if we try to reform them then we just end up with more dead. Personally I think the victim's family should decide the punishment, no matter how bad it might be, and then justice is served. People make mistakes in life but the reality is that they need to pay the price if we as observers and people of faith don't like the result.
Well that is my two sense on the matter and like DannyinJapan states the government is painting a false picture of Japan, just like America paints it's own perfect picture. Unfortunately everybody wants to come to America and complain about us but never wants to fix their own S***H**E country.
Sharks_edge
Karl B.