Not long after Nintendo had to cancel large-scale events in 2023 and 2024 due to threats to its employees and eventgoers, the company is being hit by bomb threats yet again. On May 12, Kyoto police arrested a 27-year-old unemployed Japanese man on suspicion of sending letters threatening to blow up Nintendo’s headquarters.
According to police (as reported by KTV News), the man was arrested on grounds of suspected obstruction of business after sending Nintendo envelopes containing messages like “I’m going to blow you all up” and “My plans cannot be thwarted.” He also threatened that he’d “already planted multiple bombs” within the company’s premises.
Nintendo reported this to the police on March 16, after which officers searched the area. Nothing suspicious was found, but the man has since admitted to the charges. The police are currently investigating his motive.
The case is quite similar to 2024’s arrest of another 27-year-old man who threatened to bomb Nintendo’s forthcoming events and harm its employees. This incident led the company to cancel the Splatoon Koshien National Finals 2023 tournament (which the threatener had directly referred to), as well as the subsequent Nintendo Live 2024 Tokyo.
