That's absolutely insane. The Model 37 is a 1950's era revolver that was the "light" version of the Model 36, commonly known as the "Chief's Special." It was a tiny, underpowered little revolver carried by detectives who didn't want the bulk of a proper firearm since they weren't walking the beat any longer. I actually own a Model 637, which is the modern version of the 37 made from lightweight alloy with proper rubber grips and safety mechanisms, but I bought that solely as a back-up CCW or for situations where I absolutely couldn't conceal a standard 9mm compact (my Glock 19 or M&PC). For example, I wore that under a t-shirt for two years in college and nobody on campus had a clue. But NOBODY in a high-risk, high-threat employment situation should be carrying a 5-shot snubnose revolver. Ever.
Even worse is the Sig P230, which was initially introduced back in the 70s and then "re-introduced" as a wonderful CCW revelation back in the late 90s when I got into firearms, but it was quickly concluded that it was woefully underpowered, being chambered in the pathetic caliber of .380acp (or even worse, .32) and simply lacked the muzzle energy to effectively stop threats, even at close distance. Most of the CCW community wrote it off and it never sold well in the states. As I recall, it was considered by some women to be a great "purse gun" but then anyone who carries a CCW in a purse needs to attend a proper training program.
The unfortunate Catch-22 with Japan being such a safe country is that people live in a bubble and behave accordingly. Nobody, even cops, expects this kind of thing to happen, whereas in the states it's almost preordained. I'll admit, even I let my guard down somewhat when I'm in Japan, but not completely. You never know when some deranged nutjob thinks the Buddha wants him to set off molotov cocktails on the subway or plant a pressure cooker on the train platform. And when someone is batshit nuts or committed enough, as evidenced by what happened this week, all the gun laws in the world aren't going to stop a gun murder.
The sad part, at least for Japanese, is that this has truly stolen some of their naivete and innocence. Say what you want about America, but nobody has been able to just casually walk up to an American political leader in public and blast him up close since the Ford Theater over 150 years ago...although you could make an argument about Bobby Kennedy. But for better or worse, this is going to change Japan permanently.
