Thursday 28 July 2016

Pokemon (don’t) GO to Fukushima

Fans of the popular game Pokémon GO have been warned not to hunt for Pokémon in the Fukushima nuclear exclusion zone in Japan.

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (Tepco) has asked The Pokémon Company and developer Niantic to stop the game’s characters appearing in and around areas affected by the nuclear reactor meltdown.

Tepco said it has tested the plant and found Pokémon on-site, which it fears will encourage players to enter dangerous zones.

Niantic said it would make changes to the game if the company discovered problems.

Japan’s nuclear regulator warned energy providers to tighten security after three teenagers trespassed into a nuclear power plant in Ohio in the US.

Hiroshi Hase, Japanese Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, said the worldwide success of content created in Japan was “gratifying” but urged caution due to its location-based nature.