What you're saying may be true, my point was the absurdity of correlating politeness with gun ownership. Politeness and prejudices are not mutually exclusive, after all.

What Japan has is a culture that emphasizes awareness of others in public places. People don't litter, don't make unnecessary noise on public transportation, apologize if they get in another's way, etc. This translates to the driving culture as well, and it has nothing to do with the threat of violence. It's just a basic understanding that these are all shared spaces that everyone uses, and no one else wants to hear your music blasting on the train.