There is a long article, linked to at the end of this post, about a well known country that is a staunch friend of the US. But looking at these statements you have to wonder why.

In twice-a-year visit, officers fill out Residence Information Cards about who lives where and which family member to contact in case of emergency, what relation people in the house have to each other, what kind of work they do, if they work late, and what kind of cars they own

And what kind of information do they gather?

report includes statistics like ‘Background and Motives for Girls’ Sexual Misconduct’. The police recorded 9,402 such incidents in 1985, and determined that 37.4 per cent of the girls had been seduced, and the rest had sex ‘voluntarily’. The two leading reasons for having sex voluntarily were ‘out of curiosity’ for 19.6 per cent, and ‘liked particular boy’, for 18.1 per cent.[40] The fact that police keep records on sex is simply a reflection of their keeping an eye on everything… Every person is the subject of a police dossier.

Do they have to have a warrant for these searches? No. They really don’t need one for ANY search.

the police routinely search at will. They ask suspicious characters to show them what is in their purse or sack.[34] In the rare cases where a policeman’s search (for a gun or any other contraband) is ruled illegal, it hardly matters; the … courts permit the use of illegally seized evidence.

And what happens once they get you in jail?

After the arrest, a suspect may be detained without bail for up to 28 days before the prosecutor brings the suspect before a judge.[42] Even after the 28 day period is completed, detention…may continue on a variety of pretexts, such as preventing the defendant from destroying evidence. Rearrest on another charge, is a common police tactic for starting the suspect on another 28 day interrogation process. …Some defendants may be held for several months without ever being brought before a judge.

Criminal defense lawyers are the only people allowed to visit a suspect in custody, and those meetings are strictly limited. In the months while a suspect is held prisoner, the defense counsel may see his or her client for one to five meetings lasting about 15 minutes each. Even that access will be denied if it hampers the police investigation. While under detention, suspects can be interrogated 12 hours a day, allowed to bathe only every fifth day, and may be prohibited from standing up, lying down, or leaning against the wall of their jail cells.[45] Amnesty International calls the … police custody system a ‘flagrant violation of United Nations human rights principles’.[46]

The confession rate is 95 per cent.[47] … Suspects are not allowed to read confessions before they sign them, and suspects commonly complain that their confession was altered after signature.

So the fact this country has the strongest gun control laws in the world and one of the lowest crime rate isn’t a surprise. But at what cost.

The article is about gun control in Japan.