In late March, the Pokémon Center superstore in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro neighborhood, also called the Pokémon Center Mega Tokyo, grew to become the scene of a tragedy as a 21-year-old employee was stabbed and murdered. The retailer, in addition to the Pikachu Sweets cafe positioned a brief distance away throughout the similar purchasing middle, had been instantly closed down for an indefinite time period, and plenty of occasions scheduled for April had been cancelled in any respect different branches of the Pokémon Center chain, which has places throughout Japan.
Initially, it appeared as if the Ikebukuro Pokémon Center is perhaps reopening in early May, to coincide with the resumption of in-store occasions in addition to Japan’s Golden Week spring trip interval. Golden Week got here and went with the shop’s shutters nonetheless closed, nevertheless, and so they’re going to stay shut for a number of months extra, because the Pokémon Company has introduced that the Ikebukuro Pokémon Center is not going to be reopening till “around September.” The similar timetable has been introduced for the reopening of the Pikachu Sweets cafe, which has additionally remained closed for the reason that incident.
▼ Pikachu Sweets is positioned on the identical ground of the Sunshine City shopping center because the Ikebukuro Pokémon Center, with the 2 shops lower than a minute’s stroll away from one another, however there is no such thing as a indication that both the sufferer or assassin was on the cafe on the day of the stabbing.
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No assertion has been made about whether or not there will likely be any modifications to the shops’ bodily layouts, admission procedures, or another features of its operations. With the assassin of the sufferer being an ex-boyfriend who was stalking her, the stabbing hasn’t been perceived as an indication of violence associated in direction of Pokémon Center staff or Pokémon followers themselves, however the stabbing was nonetheless a stunning demonstration of vulnerabilities within the retailer’s safety protocols, and with Pokémon Centers usually being filled with clients, a lot of them youngsters, on weekends and holidays, the Pokémon Company is little question feeling a have to rethink and retool the way it handles visitor issues of safety.
Source: Pokémon Center official web site
Read extra tales from SoraNews24.
— Pokémon Centers throughout Japan cancel April occasions after stabbing in Tokyo
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