Police in Japan arrested on April 3 a 27-year old man suspected of threatening Nintendo staff, events, and spectators. Due to these threats, Nintendo announced in December it was canceling several events, like Nintendo Live and the Splatoon Koshien 2023 finals, and postponing others. Japanese newspaper the Kyoto Shimbun first reported the arrest. According to the report, the man admitted to the threats.
Nintendo of America confirmed the arrest in a statement to Polygon, where a representative also said the Japanese headquarters “was receiving constant threats targeting its employees, and most recently, received threats targeting the spectators and staff of the Splatoon Koshien 2023 Grand Final.”
Here’s the full statement:
Nintendo’s Japanese headquarters was receiving constant threats targeting its employees, and most recently, received threats targeting the spectators and staff of the Splatoon Koshien 2023 Grand Final. Given the threats, Nintendo postponed and cancelled the series of events, and has been in contact with the police ever since. Nintendo is extremely thankful for the investigation and effort made by the police on arresting the suspect. Nintendo’s Japanese headquarters will continue to cooperate fully with the police’s investigation.
Nintendo Live, the event that was canceled in December, is a big, multi-day celebration of everything Nintendo. It was set to be held at the Tokyo Big Sight exhibition center in January. The Splatoon grand finals were slated for December at the Tokyo Ota Ward General Gymnasium.
News of Nintendo’s event cancelation came during the trial for the devastating 2019 Kyoto Animation arson attack that killed 36 people and injured many others. The attack was one of the deadliest in recent Japanese history. The suspect plead guilty and was sentenced to death in January. In the aftermath of the attack, Japanese police have treated threats with “heightened seriousness,” according to Japan Today. Police have also arrested several people who’ve made threats against both Sega and Square Enix.
