These days, crimes by young people are increasing in our society. As soon as you turn on the TV, you can see these kinds of crime almost every day. Atrocious crimes with guns and knives especially are happening conspicuously. These crimes might not have happened very often a while ago. It was more peaceful at that time.

So then, what is different between a while ago and now? Young boys now feel more pressured than people who were alive a while ago. These kinds of stress come from the small area of the Japanese country. It is too small and, moreover, there are more buildings than in old times. This thing makes people not have room in their heart. They feel pressured and displeased by it. When some people lose room in their heart, they are driven into a corner gradually, and at last, they lose themselves. That's what many people call kireru in Japanese. And it is a one of the causes which make those boys become criminals.

The other problems are their surroundings, family, friendships and themselves. Our society is a competitive society, so we have been pressured by many things such as a entrance examinations and school results. Parents have expectations for their children to go to a good university, to get positions in big companies and to have nice families. So we have to carry heavy loads with tacit consent to our parents. Nevertheless, most children haven't decided their course because they haven't found what they want to do most. So they feel rushed. It's a big cause of stress.

In such surroundings, many young people kill themselves emotionally, but most of them feel incompatible with their society in their way to live. They try to ask somebody to help them, but they don't know how to express their feelings honestly. It is because they have been hiding their feelings inside without knowing it. They become crooked step by step and they start to get angry at everything, even trifling things, one by one. However, they don't know how to express their anger either. Then they start to brandish knives or guns.

There is another reason which is feasible that young people have knives or guns. They want other people to notice their existence or to recognize them. They don't really have anything that they are greatly satisfied with. So they can't find reasons for being. If someone notices their being because they have knives or guns, having knives or guns is an easy way to explain their reasons for being. If somebody is afraid of them or if somebody is going to blame them, young people can regard that people who are afraid of them are their reason for living. Perhaps they know what they are doing is not right at the bottom of their heart. Then what can save them from such poor situations?

Now, some laws have been promulgated to prevent young people from committing crimes with knives and guns. However, many people don't believe those laws would be a help to discourage young people. No law can save them because they have problems and sufferings in their heart. Giving them chances to find something to live for and to make them speak up are important. Most Japanese schools are boring because they don't have enough choices in subjects and enough choices in sports. Nobody can find interest in learning something. To reconsider those things is a first step to prevent young people from using knives and guns. If they can find something to do with pleasure, they can devote themselves to do it and also they can alleviate stress. To save people from spiritless states is a big help for them.

"Why Do Young People Carry Knives or Guns?" by E.I. E.I. (Female), a high school junior (11th grade) in Kyoto, Japan

Nowadays, a lot of young people have knives or guns, and some of them kill people by using them. Senior high students have the highest number of knives or guns carried around, and many incidents involving knives or guns were also caused by senior high students until now. But these days, even junior high students carry knives or guns and sometimes even murder happens. Why do they have them? Some students seem to have them just because it's fashionable or their friends do. However, this problem doesn't look so simple. Newspapers and TV say that they feel stress and they can't get rid of their stress. How come they can't get rid of their stress?

The first reason for it is that they must study. In Japan, to have a high educational background is important for the students for getting a good job. So the competition for entering a good university or a good high school is getting more intense. Most students have to go to a cram school to prepare for an examination, and they are expected by their parents and teachers to enter a good school. They are obliged to study even though they want to play. That makes them stressed.

The second reason is that students can't afford the time. So they can't find anything to concentrate on; even if they do, they wouldn't have time to do that. Not having something to concentrate on gives them less space for mental relaxation, which makes them feel stressed out.

The third reason is changing eating habits. In today's eating habits, people haven't been getting enough calcium. Instant food and snacks which many young people eat contain elements that dissolve calcium. When there is a lack of calcium, people tend to get angry easily and feel stress more easily.

It is not the only because of stress that young people carry knives and guns. In Japanese society, we tend to get rid of others who have different ideas, wear different clothes, and behave differently from us. And we want to do what others do. That makes us feel comfortable. In other words, we care what other people think of us too much. This is the bad aspect that our society need to get over. The same tendencies seem to be happening among young people. Students these days don't have enough time to play with their friends, so they experience difficulties in getting used to collective living. Also they really do not know how to get along with their friends. This factor is one of the reasons why they bully their friends. Therefore, students can't help carrying around knives and guns to make themselves look strong in case they feel danger.

These reasons are showing that something is wrong with our society. If students are taught the importance of human lives and have the ability to keep themselves calm anytime, they don't have the ideas of committing murders, and the idea of carrying weapons can't even come up to their mind. The most important thing we need to do is to teach them the importance of human lives and train them to control their feelings whatever the situations are.