From: ntetsuya@lamar.ColoState.EDU (Nishimura)
Subject: Re: Yoshi Hattori
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1992 01:45:38 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO  80523

In article <1992Dec14.213333.24059@cbfsb.cb.att.com> osan@cbnewsb.cb.att.com (Mr. X) writes:
>In article <1992Dec10.234122.12606@bluemoon.use.com> grant@bluemoon.use.com (Grant DeLorean) writes:
>>
>> He does have a minor point, in Japan unless it is in the hands of
>>government folks or Yakuza it is a non-functional replica. He may
>>have been used to a neighbor who played with a replica back home
>>so thought nothing of it... This could be another way in which
>>strict gun control caused a death...
>
[stuff deleted]

>	Do people in Japan go running around pointing toy guns at each
>	other saying "stick `em up, HA HA HA..."?  I'd find that hard to
	
	They (or "we") may not do so, however, it is not very unusual to see
	some junior and senior high school kids carrying their "weapon" in 
	the baskets on their bicycles.  "Weapon" I mean here is usually plastic
	toy air/gas guns with which you can shoot plastic BB's.  And I have to 
	mention that they look very *REAL*.  (variations include SIGs, .45 
	Autos, MP5Ks, M60 GPMG, and etc.)

	Some adults also carry these air/gas guns to play so called "survival
	game," in which you shoot paint balls here in the US.  These adults are
	most likely in their camo suits with eye protection.

	In both cases they usually do not carry their weapon in downtown or 
	crowded areas.  Some kids may carry them around in suburban small cities 	or in towns, and adults, only in their "game area" which is mostly open
	field and and in the mountains where no "ordinary people" can be.

	Sometimes police officers may stop the kids with the guns and ask about
	them especially there are some reports about nasty mischieves involving
	the air/gas guns.  If an adult is carrying a gun in any form, especially	when he is near a Yakuza office, he will definetely be stopped either by	police (if he is lucky) or by one of the Yakuza members (if he is 
	unlucky).  :-)

	I have to add that these air/gas guns are so powerful that some cities
	and prefectures prhibit them to be sold to anyone under 18 years old.



>	BTW, I got the Japanese take on what happened from a Japanese friend.
>	Apparently Peairs (or however the hell you spell it) was in his
>	doorway telling Hattori "FREEZE!".  Seems the Japanese have a problem


	It might be possible for the deceased to have misunderstood "freeze" as
	"please" as Andy points out.  I might add one more possibility.  

	I think that the deceased did not understand exactly what "freeze" 
	meant.  As he is from one of the best schools in the area (he was from 
	my home town), he may have known the word "freeze" to mean that "liquid
	becomes solid," but may not have known to mean "to stop whatever you
	are doing and stand still!!!"  In other words, in his dictionay in his
	mind, I assume that "freeze" never meant " to stop," and the word was
	the least possible to occur in the situation he was in; no liquid and
	no refrigerator were around.  

	Provided he might have misunderstood the word as "please," a word for 
	an invitation, since the word has a similar phonological construction
	CCVC as "freeze."

	With above reasons, I assume that had the man with the gun said "stop"
	instead of "freeze," the deceased might have been alive today.


						Tetsuya Nishimura