On March 26, a female employee at the Pokémon Center store in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro district was stabbed and killed. The shocking incident prompted the store’s management, as well as that of the Pokémon Sweets dessert cafe located within the same shopping center, to immediately close down indefinitely, and while Japan’s other Pokémon Centers remain open for business, they too are rethinking their operations for the time being.
screens inside Pokémon Center stores, and also to give out special merch to spectators. All of those parts of the event have now been cancelled, implying that while the competitions will still take place, they’ll do so in a much more controlled environment with a buffer zone between participants and general store visitors.
It is worth keeping in mind that the March 26 stabbing stemmed from a previous personal relationship between the victim and her attacker, and was not the result of animosity towards the Pokémon Center, the Pokémon franchise, or its fans. While there’s no question that the incident is causing the Pokémon Center chain to review its security protocols, it’s likely that even more so than potential safety risks, the decision to cancel events was made out of respect to the deceased.
Cancelling celebratory events is common in Japan following tragedies, such as the widespread suspension of springtime cherry blossom festivals and summer fireworks shows following the March 11 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, and so it’s not surprising that the Pokémon Center management would feel that now really isn’t the time to be amping up a party-like atmosphere in their stores.
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