The Niigata chapter of the Japan Lawyers Association for Freedom (JLAF) also appealed to the Niigata Municipal Board of Education to guide elementary and junior high school students on how to stay safe while playing the game. Fans have been eagerly awaiting its release since it first came out more than two weeks ago in Australia, New Zealand and the United States, and then spread to more than 20 countries.
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In a video address to Japanese fans, Junichi Masuda, head of development at Game Freak and co-creator of the game, apologised for keeping players waiting so long.
Pokemon GO has finally launched in Japan – the place where the gaming and cartoon phenomenon was born.
“I want people to abide by the warning so that people can play it on smartphones safely”, said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga on Thursday.
“This game is just as I imagined it to be, it’s really fun”, said Toshinori Ishibashi, 18, who was seen playing the game near a Pokemon goods store in Tokyo Station.
“Ultimately, McDonald’s is a restaurant”, said a company spokesman. The other 2,500 are “Pokestops”, where players can get “Poke Balls” and other items they need to play the game.
Anxious about the possible impact of the launch, a Japanese government body called the National Center of Incident Readiness and Strategy for Cybersecurity (NISC) has issued a nine-point advisory on social networks.
It is unclear when Pokemon Go will be released in China and South Korea, where access to geographical data necessary for the game is restricted by the government.
Pokemon Go is starting to appear where it all began: Japan. Niantic CEO John Hanke asked users to play with care.
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Shares in the Japanese game maker closed up 14 percent at 31,700 yen ($300) on the Tokyo Stock exchange Tuesday and have more than doubled in value since the wildly popular augmented-reality game was launched on July 6.
