On March 31, The Pokémon Company announced that all events scheduled to be held in Pokémon Center stores across Japan from April 1 to April 31 would be cancelled, with the exception of two tournaments (source: GameWatch).
The announcements were made for each Pokémon Center location simultaneously through the official Pokémon Center Staff Voice portal. While Pokémon Centers normally host regular events like Pokémon Greetings (featuring costumed mascots) and Pokémon TCG Classrooms, all such events have been cancelled, citing “unforeseen circumstances.” The exceptions are the domestic City League TCG Tournament and the Preliminary Tournament for the Pokémon GO Japan Championships 2026.
Additionally, likely due to safety reasons, the tournaments will be run differently. Matches will not be broadcast, and no spectators will be allowed. Consequently, the previously planned commemorative gifts for spectators will not be distributed.
These announcements follow the temporary closure of Pokémon Center Mega Tokyo announced on March 27, which was directly related to the fatal stabbing incident that took place within the store and resulted in the death of an employee. The Pokémon Company stated that it would prioritize the mental well-being of its staff and cooperation with the police, which is possibly the reason for the new string of cancelled events. While the new announcement only affects events scheduled during April, it’s still not known when Pokémon Center Mega Tokyo will reopen its doors.
It is really sad that the killing at the Pokémon Center happened. But instead of just cancelling Pokémon events for a month, Japan should focus on what can be done to better protect women. Stalking is not rare in Japan and needs to be taken more seriously.
My guy, they are. That’s what the city’s doing as a whole. This is an article explaining what the Pokémon company is doing. They can’t change judicial procedures or make city wide crackdowns, they’re a freaking entertainment company. It’s a sin what happened, but don’t hold a company accountable for a systemic problem.
The pokemon company cannot do anything to force government or community change besides altering business practices. By canceling major tourist events and closing major tourist attractions they out pressure on the economy- and through that society and the government
Stalking is common globally, for people of all genders, the scary thing is that Japan already has better laws criminalizing stalking in comparison to a lot of the world and that incidents like this still end up occuring. I think the bigger issue that on a global cultural and societal scale that far too many people don’t treat stalking as a serious threat and that means regardless of what laws a country may have on the books, if individual people and law enforcement don’t consider it a serious threat or crime then it won’t be treated with the urgency that it needs to be.
That said, I also commend the Pokemon company for doing this because it’s a way to acknowledge her death, their failure in protecting their employees, customers and visitors, and that there is probably a lot of people who are now affected by what they witnessed that day and that other people are probably weary of attending events at Pokemon Centers.
The guy was already being looked in to by the police. He was held at one point too for questioning. But, since he had never done anything violent up to that point, they sadly couldn’t hold him. Also, stalkers are both genders. More women will get away with it too.
The pokemon company cannot do anything to force government or community change besides altering business practices. By canceling major tourist events and closing major tourist attractions they out pressure on the economy- and through that society and the government
Dang…I had no idea something so terrible and brutal happened in relation to a Pokémon based event. Terrible. One deranged, homicidal maniac ruins it for everyone.
The guy had been stalking her for months. The employee had reported it to the police multiple times and they ignored her. It’s a common problem in Japan.
No offense, but that’s a problem everywhere, not just Japan. It’s just as bad in the U. S.. If anything, in Japan, they handle the problem better than some other countries. I commemorate what they’re doing and wish the U.S. would do similar.
Yea, this is the same empty, performative, bullshit, that our country pulls any time theres a violent tragedy. Canceling these events will have no affect whatsoever. It will not make anyone safe. Its just the best they can think of to say “hey look! We care! Look we did something!” Anyone can be stalked and killed anywhere. Do nothing, or do better. This is the worst reaction.
So what do you think the company should do instead?