Japanese man gets jailed for repeated death and bomb threats that saw multiple Nintendo events cancelled, judge excoriates 'selfish motive' and 'persistent and vicious' behaviour

The Kyoto District court has found 27 year-old Takemi Kazama guilty of intimidation of business by repeatedly posting threats of harm, in relation to posts made using a Nintendo website's online form in August and November 2023 (thanks, NHK).

Kazama's actions resulted in the cancellation of the Nintendo Live 2024 event, which was to be held in January this year, as well as other events like the December 2023 Japanese Splatoon championship and this year's Splatoon and Mario Kart championships (the latter pair were subsequently re-scheduled and went ahead in April without incident). At the time Nintendo refused to give details of the threats, other than saying the matter was with police, and that per a company statement "we decided we could not amply ensure the safety of our customers."

Kazama, a public sector worker, posted threats of harm on 39 separate occasions aimed at Nintendo and its staff, including bomb threats. Kyoto Shimbun reports that the threats included telling Nintendo to "be careful about events that have spectators in attendance” and "I'm going to kill everyone involved." The man also said that "I'll make you regret bringing such a shitty game into this world," though the game in question is unclear.

In court, a statement from one of the Nintendo employees was read: "It reminded me of the Kyoto Animation arson and murder case and I was terrified." The Kyoto Animation arson attack in 2019 saw 36 people killed, and is one of the worst massacres in recent Japanese history as well as the first time an entertainment company had been targeted. In that case, Kyoto Animation had also been threatened in advance.

Kyoto District Court Judge Hiroshi Kawakami said in summarising that "the defendant was frustrated by his repeated losses in online matches of Nintendo games, and committed the crime to relieve stress." The Judge then went on to say "there is nothing to be said for such a selfish motive, and the crime was persistent and vicious," before sentencing Kazama to one year in prison, suspended for four years.

This case is one of an increasing number, as developers and publishers gradually begin to confront the unpleasant reality of how some in the gaming community threaten and harass their employees. No longer content to wave it off as an unfortunate side-effect of doing business, companies are now actively pursuing the individuals behind such threats and finding success in various jurisdictions: last week Sega sued an individual into oblivion for threatening its staff, and issued a warning towards anyone else who even thinks of it. In America, Bungie has gone on the front foot against both harassers and cheat makers, winning some landmark victories in efforts to protect its staff. Such actions are unlikely to entirely stop the kind of cretins that go about doing this stuff, but perhaps one or two will think twice in future.