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

Mallet of a judge, with books and scales of justice in background, of a court-like scene. on the floor, place for typography. Courtroom theme.

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."