Earlier this year, in March, a Pokemon Center employee in Japan was fatally stabbed at her place of work. The assailant, a 26-year-old man, stabbed the employee multiple times before taking his own life in a targeted case of domestic violence and stalking. The victim, Moe Harukawa, had reported the culprit to the police in December 2025, and he was issued a restraining order the following month, before committing the heinous crime.
The Ikebukuro Mega Tokyo Pokemon Center and nearby Pokemon Cafe have remained closed since the incident. However, that closure is about to end, with the store set to reopen in August, with new safety measures in place.
The incident at the Ikebukuro Mega Tokyo Pokemon Center took place on March 26, and the store has remained closed ever since. It's the biggest of the four Pokemon Center stores in Tokyo, and is surrounded by the Pikachu Sweets Cafe, a Pokemon Go lab, and a Pokemon Card Game Center, which I found doesn't sell much trading card game stock, outside of sleeves and playmats.
Four months after the murder took place, The Pokemon Company has announced the re-opening of the store.
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