Gun goes off by accident, killing a 2 year-old boy

In Meguro, Tokyo, a 2 year-old boy was shot accidentally by his brother with a rifle that their father owned. On Dec. 9th, the father ,who was permitted to own a rifle for hunting, was cleaing his gun in the living room. While he left the room for a few minutes, his 5 year-old son pulled the trigger and his 2 year-old brother was shot. He was taken to the hospital right away, but died soon after he got to the hospital. I was really shocked when I read this article. The father was too careless, forgetting to make sure the gun was unloaded. I cannot belive that a person who doesn't check if the gun is loaded could get the lisence to own a gun in Japan.