In a later civil action (95 0144 (La.App. 1 Cir. 10/6/95), 662 So.2d 509), however, the court found Peairs liable to Hattori's parents for $650,000 damages,^[4] which they used to establish two charitable funds in their son's name; one to fund U.S. high school students wishing to visit Japan, and one to fund organizations that lobby for gun control.^[5]

[

Afterwards

After the trial, Peairs told the press that he would never again own a gun.

Japanese were shocked not only by the killing, but by Peairs' acquittal. Shortly after the Hattori case, a Japanese exchange student, Takuma Ito , and a Japanese-American student, Go Matsura, were killed in a carjacking in San Pedro, California, and another Japanese exchange student, Masakazu Kuriyama was shot in Concord, California. Many Japanese reacted to these deaths as being similar symptoms of a sick society; TV Asahi commentator Takashi Wada put the feelings into words by asking, "But now, which society is more mature? The idea that you protect people by shooting guns is barbaric."

1.65 million Japanese and one million Americans signed a petition urging stronger gun controls in the US; the petition was presented to Ambassador Walter Mondale on November 22, 1993, who delivered it to President Bill Clinton. Shortly thereafter, the Brady Bill was passed, and on December 3, 1993, Mondale presented Hattori's parents with a copy.^[6][7]

Suspicions of implicit racism in the acquittal of Peairs further gained traction when, shortly afterwards, a homeowner named Todd Vriesenga, inside his house in Grand Haven, MI, similarly shot and killed a 17 year old named Adam Provencal through the front door. Vriesenga received a 16 to 24 month term for "reckless use of a firearm resulting in death", causing both Japanese and Asian-American advocacy groups to speculate on whether the difference between Vriesenga's conviction and Peairs' acquittal was related to the race of the victims. Other groups publicly stated that Vriesenga should have been convicted of the more severe charge of felony manslaughter.^[1]

[

In Popular Culture

The shooting incident was fictionalized on the tv show Homicide: Life on the Street, wherein the cousin of one of the detectives shoots a Turkish exchange student who mistakenly goes to the wrong house on Halloween. Unlike in the Hattori incident, the fictionalized version involves the student, dressed as Gene Simmons from the band KISS acting strangely, and even aggressively towards the shooter. Also in contrast to the Hattori shooting, the fictional incident was portrayed as being motivated by racism.

[

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Liu, J. Harper. Two deaths, no justice. Goldsea. Retrieved on Dec. 29, 2005.
2. ^ Associated Press report of the trial
3. ^ Gerling, Susan Michelle (1999). Louisiana's new "kill the carjacker" statute: self-defence or instant injustice? (PDF). Washington University Journal of Law and Policy. Retrieved on Dec. 29, 2005.
4. ^ Lee, Elisa (1994). Yoshihiro Hattori's Parents Awarded $650,000 In Suit. AsianWeek. Retrieved on Dec. 29, 2005.
5. ^ Blakeman, Karen (2000). Japanese couple joins anti-gun fight in U.S.. Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved on Dec. 29, 2005.
6. ^ Reischauer, Edwin O. (1994). The United States and Japan in 1994: Uncertain Prospects. Edwin O. Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies. Retrieved on Dec. 29, 2005. (NOTE: as the original link directing to Gateway Japan is dead, excerpts collected at Japan, Incorporated by Tarrant, William are being used)
7. ^ Kernodle, Katrina (2002). Gun Stance Highlights Cultural Gap between U.S. and Japan. Frances Kernodle Associates. Retrieved on Dec. 30, 2005.

• Milhollon, Michelle; & Wold, Amy (2002). Weapons caution urged. The Advocate. Retrieved on Dec. 29, 2005.
• Unknown (2003). Clinton to meet parents of Japanese boy shot in U.S.. Japan Today. Retrieved on Dec. 29, 2005.
• Fujio, Rie (2004). The Yoshi Coalition homepage. Retrieved on Dec. 29, 2005. (NOTE: The homepage has no mention of actual publishing dates on its subpages. Thus the year of the latest update - Oct. 2004 - was used as the "latest edition" publishing year)

[

Books

• Kamo, Yoshinori (1993), written at Tokyo, Japan, Amerika o aishita shonen: "Hattori Yoshihiro-kun shasatsu jiken" saiban, Kodansha, ISBN 4062067196. The book is also known as "A Japanese Boy Who Loved America: The Trial of Yoshi Hattori Shooting in Baton Rouge".
• Hiragi, Katsumi & Tim Talley (1993), written at Japan, Furizu: Piazu wa naze Hattori-kun o utta no ka, Shueisha, ISBN 4087751686. The book is also known as "Freeze".
• Bandō, Hiromi & Mieko Hattori (1996), Beyond Guns, Beyond Ourselves, Stop Gun Caravan, <http://www.stopgun.org/english/sgc_English.html>.

[

External links

• The Yoshi Coalition homepage. Retrieved on Dec. 29, 2005.
• AFS International homepage. Retrieved on Dec. 29, 2005.
• The Shot Heard 'Round the World at the Internet Movie Database
• The Shot Heard 'Round the World at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival homepage. URL accessed on Dec. 29, 2005.
• Japanese press for gun control

BCUZ.com FACTS Encyclopedia content is licensed under the GFDL as approved by Wikipedia.
For more information review our copyright contact and privacy policy. © 1996 - BCUZ.COM - We have all the FACTS you need about Small Business Financing, Behavior Disorder, Having Too Many Bills, Needing Cash Fast, Structured Settlements, Frequent Flier Programs, Top Steak Houses, The Mayan Indians, Norfolk and Suffolk England, Growing Longer Hair and a full reference English Encyclopedia and Spanish Encyclopedia.Privacy Policy