{"id":66505,"date":"2026-05-12T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=66505"},"modified":"2026-05-12T18:32:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T09:32:17","slug":"japanese-gamers-surprisingly-put-off-by-the-idea-of-a-gta-set-in-japan-and-no-it-wouldnt-just-feel-like-a-yakuza-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/japanese-gamers-surprisingly-put-off-by-the-idea-of-a-gta-set-in-japan-and-no-it-wouldnt-just-feel-like-a-yakuza-game\/","title":{"rendered":"Japanese gamers surprisingly put off by the idea of a GTA set in Japan, and no, it wouldn\u2019t \u201cjust feel like a Yakuza game\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Forza Horizon 6<\/strong>, set to release on May 19, is just around the corner, and it has already been met with praise thanks to its authentic-feeling Japan-inspired map. While the map is fictional, it draws from many real-life locations and easter eggs, <a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/forza-horizon-6s-japan-map-bears-uncanny-resemblances-to-courses-from-a-certain-hit-drifting-anime-to-the-delight-of-japanese-players\/\">which domestic fans seem to have been excited to see<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Possibly attempting to ride on that wave of hype, an X user used generative AI to \u201creimagine\u201d what the gameplay of <strong>Grand Theft Auto 5<\/strong> would look like if it was set in a hyper-realistic version of Japan. However, despite the viral post drawing some positive reactions, many users on the Japanese side of X seem to be conflicted about the very idea of a game like that existing. While the consensus is that the country is depicted rather realistically (with some jabs at the uncanny valley look of the AI video), the concept of (hypothetically) setting GTA in Japan was taken as a bit odd, or even scary, among the domestic audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"ja\" dir=\"ltr\">GTA\u306e\u8eca\u596a\u3046\u3084\u3064\u3001\u6cbb\u5b89\u60aa\u3044\u77e5\u3089\u306a\u3044\u8857\u306e\u60aa\u515a\u306e\u7269\u8a9e\u3060\u304b\u3089\u3067\u6d41\u3057\u3066\u305f\u3051\u3069\u3001\u81ea\u5206\u306e\u77e5\u3063\u3066\u308b\u6587\u5316\u570f\u306e\u7269\u8a9e\u3068\u3057\u3066\u898b\u308b\u3068\u30de\u30b8\u3067\u30ae\u30e7\u30c3\u3068\u3059\u308b\u306a\u3002 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/t7Q5wy8Cfy\">https:\/\/t.co\/t7Q5wy8Cfy<\/a><\/p>&mdash; \u6625\u590f\u79cb\u51ac\u5de1 (@SyluahWB) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SyluahWB\/status\/2053271844296573002?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 10, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-palette-color-5-background-color has-background\"><em>I let the GTA car stealing bit slide because it\u2019s just a story of a thug in a bad neighborhood of an unknown city, but seeing it as a story depicted in a culture I\u2019m actually familiar with is appalling.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"ja\" dir=\"ltr\">\u306a\u3093\u3060\u304b\u821e\u53f0\u304c\u65e5\u672c\u306b\u306a\u3063\u305f\u9014\u7aef\u306b<br>\u3061\u3087\u3063\u3074\u308a\u66b4\u308c\u308b\u7f6a\u60aa\u611f\u304c\u51fa\u3066\u3057\u307e\u3046\u306a\u30fb\u30fb\u30fb <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/O6sDG8KHNj\">https:\/\/t.co\/O6sDG8KHNj<\/a><\/p>&mdash; \u3053\u3076\u308d\u3046(\u53e4\u90e8\u4eae)\/\u30b9\u30ab\u30b9\u30ab\uff16\u5dfb\u767a\u58f2\u4e2d (@koburou) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/koburou\/status\/2053270246216417370?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 10, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-palette-color-5-background-color has-background\"><em>I wonder why going a bit wild like this makes me feel a slight sense of guilt as soon as the stage is switched to Japan. &nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Setting aside the discourse on AI generated content itself, many Japanese X users don\u2019t seem to be particularly happy about how the \u201cfree roaming\u201d criminal aspect of the game translates to a domestic setting. While of course, the unhinged and violent world of GTA is very much <em>a work of fiction<\/em>, seeing crimes happen in an environment you\u2019re familiar with (especially if it\u2019s a generally low-crime environment) felt off-putting for many, as <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/LAMBsunsun\/status\/2053351899269869737?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">one user comments<\/a>, \u201cIt&#8217;s a pretty terrifying game when you think about it in a local context. I&#8217;m starting to wonder why Americans can enjoy it&#8230;\u201d and <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/tomatrader\/status\/2053603195709235274?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">another says<\/a>, \u201cI can\u2019t stand such a lawless looking Japan.\u201d<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/LAMBsunsun\/status\/2053351899269869737?s=20\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/tomatrader\/status\/2053603195709235274?s=20\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"ja\" dir=\"ltr\">Forza Horizon 6\u304c\u65e5\u672c\u821e\u53f0\u306a\u306e\u306f\u5b09\u3057\u3044\u3051\u3069GTA\u306f\u3042\u307e\u308a\u5b09\u3057\u304f\u306a\u3044\u306e\u306f\u306a\u3093\u3067\u3060\u308d\u3046\u3002<br>\u81ea\u56fd\u304c\u821e\u53f0\u306b\u306a\u3063\u305f\u9014\u7aef\u3001\u72af\u7f6a\u884c\u70ba\u306b\u5bfe\u3059\u308b\u5acc\u60aa\u611f\u304c\u5897\u3059\u304b\u3089\u306a\u306e\u304b\u306a\u3002<br>\u4ed6\u4eba\u306e\u8eca\u3092\u596a\u3063\u3066\u4e57\u308b\u3068\u304b\u65e5\u672c\u3067\u306f\u307e\u305a\u898b\u306a\u3044\u5149\u666f\u3060\u3057\u3002<br>\u304b\u3064\u3066\u65e5\u672c\u306e\u5927\u962a\u5e9c\u3084\u795e\u5948\u5ddd\u770c\u3067GTA3\u304c\u6709\u5bb3\u56f3\u66f8\u6307\u5b9a\u3055\u308c\u305f\u306e\u3082\u308f\u304b\u308b\u8a71\u306a\u3093\u3060\u3088\u306a\u3002 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/9wv0ULJlqC\">https:\/\/t.co\/9wv0ULJlqC<\/a><\/p>&mdash; \u3042\u3057\u3046\u3089 (@oASHIURAo) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/oASHIURAo\/status\/2053291876774801907?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 10, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-palette-color-5-background-color has-background\"><em>I\u2019m happy that Forza Horizon 6 is set in Japan, so I wonder why I\u2019m not that excited about GTA [hypothetically also being in Japan]. Maybe the fact that it\u2019s set in my home country is making my aversion towards crime increase. For starters, stuff like stealing a car by force and riding off is something you\u2019d never see in Japan. I do get why GTA3 was previously marked as \u201charmful content\u201d in Osaka and Kanagawa prefectures.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Interestingly (as per the previous post), Japan does have a bit of a \u201chistory\u201d with the GTA franchise, as it was a major video game series that ended up facing government restrictions due to its violent and explicit content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.itmedia.co.jp\/news\/articles\/0505\/30\/news029.html#:~:text=%E7%A5%9E%E5%A5%88%E5%B7%9D%E7%9C%8C%E3%81%8C%E3%80%8C%E3%82%B0%E3%83%A9%E3%83%B3%E3%83%89%E3%83%BB%E3%82%BB%E3%83%95%E3%83%88,%E6%9C%89%E5%AE%B3%E5%9B%B3%E6%9B%B8%E9%A1%9E%E3%80%8D%E3%81%AB%E6%8C%87%E5%AE%9A%E3%80%82\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ITMedia News<\/a>, back in May 2005, the Child Welfare Council of the Kanagawa Prefecture designated Grand Theft Auto 3 as \u201ccontent harmful for minors,\u201d marking <a href=\"https:\/\/game.watch.impress.co.jp\/docs\/kikaku\/1594325.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the first time since 1992<\/a> that a PC game had been deemed harmful by the Japanese government. This means that it was strictly forbidden to sell, distribute or in any way present the contents of GTA titles to minors in Kanagawa, and violators were subject to a fine of up to 300,000 yen. The move was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.inside-games.jp\/article\/2005\/06\/08\/16478.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">criticized by Capcom<\/a>, citing \u201crestriction of freedom of expression,\u201d and it directly influenced Japan\u2019s rating board CERO (Computer Entertainment Rating Organization) <a href=\"https:\/\/dengekionline.com\/data\/news\/2006\/2\/17\/72008f2f0cd326ab00c34934e7de450c.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">to establish<\/a> its D (ages 17 and up) and Z (ages 18 and up only) ratings. It was followed by similar bans of GTA titles in other prefectures, including Osaka in 2007 (Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.4gamer.net\/games\/004\/G000492\/20070906015\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">4Gamer<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the other hand, (and I\u2019m sure you\u2019re thinking the same thing), some domestic gamers <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/MUKIDEZA2\/status\/2053261737496052198?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reacted to the viral AI-generated post<\/a> saying, <em>we already have this in Japan, and it\u2019s called the Yakuza series<\/em>. Some argue that the \u201cJapanese setting\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SNDR_SNDL\/status\/2053266371564499170?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">doesn\u2019t really work<\/a> for the franchise, making the footage <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/max_2608\/status\/2053267458442830181?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">look like<\/a> a new Yakuza installment instead. However, others argue that Yakuza and GTA are fundamentally different when it comes to how they depict crime. Specifically, GTA is seen as directly \u201cenabling\u201d the protagonist to commit crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"ja\" dir=\"ltr\">\u9f8d\u304c\u5982\u304f\u3001\u4e00\u822c\u4eba\u3092\u76f4\u3067\u8972\u3046\u7d75\u9762\u306f\u60aa\u515a\u5074\u3057\u304b\u57fa\u672c\u3084\u3089\u306a\u3044\u3093\u3067\u3059\u3088\u306d\u57fa\u672c\u7684\u306b\u3002\u307e\u3041\u3001\u30b3\u30f3\u30d3\u30cb\u3092\u6226\u95d8\u306e\u5dfb\u304d\u6dfb\u3048\u3067\u7834\u58ca\u3057\u305f\u308a\u3001\u8857\u306e\u770b\u677f\u3068\u304b\u6b66\u5668\u306b\u3057\u3066\u306f\u3044\u308b\u3093\u3067\u3001\u8ab0\u304b\u306b\u640d\u76ca\u306f\u4e0e\u3048\u3066\u308b\u3093\u3067\u3059\u3051\u3069\u3002<br>\u3060\u304b\u3089\u3001\u6539\u3081\u3066\u3068\u3093\u3067\u3082\u306d\u3048\u7d75\u9762\u3060\u306a\u3041\u3068\u3002<\/p>&mdash; \u6625\u590f\u79cb\u51ac\u5de1 (@SyluahWB) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SyluahWB\/status\/2053482899039727860?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 10, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-palette-color-5-background-color has-background is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p><em>In most scenarios in the Yakuza series, it\u2019s usually the bad guys who openly attack civilians. Of course, there is some collateral damage from fights, like when they end up wrecking convenience stores or using signboards as weapons, so they technically are causing damage to people.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>That\u2019s why I have to say once more how outrageous this depiction is.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"ja\" dir=\"ltr\">\u9f8d\u304c\u5982\u304f\u304c\u3042\u308b\u3068\u3044\u3046\u58f0\u3082\u3042\u308b\u3051\u3069\u3001\u3042\u308c\u610f\u5916\u3068\u72af\u7f6a\u884c\u70ba\u306f\u51fa\u6765\u306a\u3044\u3093\u3060\u3088\u306a\u3002<br>\u30d7\u30ec\u30a4\u30e4\u30fc\u64cd\u4f5c\u3067\u306f\u5f37\u76d7\u3001\u7a83\u76d7\u3001\u6c11\u9593\u4eba\u306e\u6bba\u50b7\u306f\u51fa\u6765\u306a\u3044\u3057\u3001\u3061\u3083\u3093\u3068\u65e5\u672c\u306e\u6587\u5316\u3084\u502b\u7406\u89b3\u306b\u5408\u308f\u305b\u3066\u4f5c\u3063\u3066\u3044\u308b\u306e\u304c\u308f\u304b\u308b\u3002<br>\u4eee\u306bGTA\u304c\u65e5\u672c\u821e\u53f0\u306b\u306a\u3063\u305f\u3089\u5927\u554f\u984c\u306b\u306a\u308aCERO\u8a2d\u7acb\u306e\u6839\u5e95\u3092\u8986\u3059\u30d1\u30f3\u30c9\u30e9\u306e\u7bb1\u3092\u958b\u3051\u308b\u3053\u3068\u306b\u306a\u308b\u3002 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/9wv0ULJlqC\">https:\/\/t.co\/9wv0ULJlqC<\/a><\/p>&mdash; \u3042\u3057\u3046\u3089 (@oASHIURAo) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/oASHIURAo\/status\/2053294101093871845?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 10, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-palette-color-5-background-color has-background\"><em>People are saying that we have the Yakuza series, but in Yakuza, you surprisingly can\u2019t actually commit crimes. The playing character can\u2019t commit burglary, theft and murder of civilians, and it\u2019s clear that the game was built upon Japanese culture and ethics. If there was a hypothetical GTA set in Japan, that could become a huge problem and open up the Pandora\u2019s box, possibly even shaking up the foundations of CERO.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Poking fun at those critical of the crime depicted in the AI footage, some users decided to reference Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio\u2019s 2018 spin-off Judgement. Specifically, that one scene where Yagami, played by Takuya Kimura, completely destroys a convenience store in a showdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"ja\" dir=\"ltr\">\u201c\u30ad\u30e0\u30bf\u30af\u304c\u30b3\u30f3\u30d3\u30cb\u3067\u66b4\u308c\u307e\u304f\u308b\u201d\u3053\u3068\u3092\u5f53\u305f\u308a\u524d\u306b\u53d7\u3051\u5165\u308c\u3066\u305f\u4ffa\u306f\u7570\u5e38\u8005\u306e\u53ef\u80fd\u6027\u304c\u3042\u308b <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/omYg8IZ0vx\">https:\/\/t.co\/omYg8IZ0vx<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ofLqsZYyde\">pic.twitter.com\/ofLqsZYyde<\/a><\/p>&mdash; \u3064\u306a\ud83d\udfe6\u2b1b\ufe0f(\ud83d\udcf8) (@Tuna27GMB) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Tuna27GMB\/status\/2053628413798396398?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 11, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-palette-color-5-background-color has-background\"><em>Maybe I\u2019m the insane one for accepting that bit where Kimura Takuya goes absolutely ballistic in the convenience store as totally normal.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An post reimagining GTA as a game set in Japan recently went viral,  but many Japanese players don\u2019t seem so happy about the concept.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":66507,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-66505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - 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