A 27-year-old Japanese man has been arrested after allegedly threatening to blow up Nintendo’s headquarters in Kyoto. The suspect reportedly sent envelopes to the company’s offices containing messages about explosives and an attack, prompting Nintendo to contact police on March 16. Officers searched the area and found no explosives, but the man has reportedly admitted the charges.
A man has been arrested in Japan after threatening to blow up Nintendo’s headquarters in Kyoto. According to KTV News, as translated by Automaton, the 27-year-old man is from Hekinan, a city in Japan’s Aichi Prefecture, around 100 miles from Kyoto. The man is reportedly unemployed and was arrested on suspicion of obstructing business.
According to the report, the suspect sent envelopes to Nintendo’s headquarters threatening to attack the building with explosives. The envelopes allegedly contained messages such as “I’m going to blow you all up” and “my plans cannot be thwarted.” After receiving the threats, Nintendo contacted police on March 16, and officers searched the area for explosives, but found nothing.
Although nothing suspicious was discovered on Nintendo’s premises, the man has reportedly admitted the charges. Police are now said to be investigating his motives. The case is another example of violent threats being directed at Nintendo’s staff in Japan, following a similar case that had direct consequences for the company’s live events.
In April 2024, 27-year-old Kenshin Kazama was arrested after sending a total of 39 threats through the inquiry form on Nintendo’s official website over a three-month period. Kazama was accused of writing messages including “I’ll make you regret bringing such a shitty game into this world,” threatening to “kill everyone involved,” and warning the company to “be careful about events that have spectators in attendance.”
It was not clear which game he was referring to, but it was believed to be Splatoon 3, since some of the threats were aimed at the Splatoon Koshien 2023 National Finals. Those threats led Nintendo to cancel the Splatoon Finals and Nintendo Live 2024, which were scheduled to take place in Tokyo in December 2023 and January 2024, respectively. Kazama was given a suspended one-year prison sentence.
Source: VGC
