It has been announced that the Pokémon Center Mega Tokyo store and Pikachu Sweets Café, located next to each other on the second floor of the Sunshine City building in Higashi-Ikebukuro, Tokyo, will be opening their doors once more following their temporary closure four months ago. The stores are set to resume operations starting August 24.
The closure had been announced in the aftermath of a stabbing incident that took place on March 26, when a man armed with two knives fatally wounded a female employee before taking his own life. The employee had reportedly been a victim of stalking prior to the incident, and the man in question was the victim’s ex-boyfriend, who violated a restraining order placed against him to enter the Pokémon Center where she had been working.
Following the incident, The Pokémon Company not only temporarily closed Pokémon Center Mega Tokyo, but also cancelled scheduled Pokémon Center events nationwide for the entirety of April. Tournaments that could not be cancelled or delayed were held without spectators.
Ahead of its re-opening, Pokémon Center Mega Tokyo will be undergoing partial renovations and increasing security measures to ensure employee and customer safety. The stores will be implementing entry capacity limits for a short period after their reopenings, with entry procedures set to be announced at a later date.
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