Pokemon Go launches in Japan

Pokemon Go has finally received Pokemon Go.

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Niantic has been slowly rolling out Pokemon Go across various regions across the world, but one region that has yet to get its time with the game is Japan. Well - that all ended last night as the studio announced Pokemon Go is now available in Japan.

Pokemon Go originally released in New Zealand, Australia, and in the US on July 6, which didn’t go exactly as planned as it experienced server issues for several days. Since its initial launch, the game has made its way to over 30 countries.

The Japanese launch was met with the game’s first sponsorship deal with McDonald’s. The deal allows every McDonald’s location in the region to either become a PokeStop or a gym.

While it took a few days for Pokemon Go-related incidents to pop up, it only took mere hours for an accident to occur in Japan. According to the BBC, an Osaka Kindai University student reportedly fell down the stairs while playing Pokemon Go, resulting in a trip to the hospital for their injuries.

While this accident isn’t as severe as some we’ve reported, it’s still a clear indication that people around the world need to take Pokemon Go’s warning serious to be aware of their surroundings while playing. Unfortunately, we have a feeling it’ll only be a matter of time until we hear of more serious accidents in Japan considering how popular the Pokemon series is in the region.

In fact, Japanese authorities have taken precautions to help keep the country safe while playing Pokemon Go by releasing a nine-point safety guide. The warnings were issued by the National Centre of Incident Readiness and Strategy for Cybersecurity and encourage Pokemon Trainers in the region to use “cool names” which are different from their real names and to carry a spare battery with them while playing in case of an emergency, among other things. The pamphlet also makes mention of players needing to be caareful not to get mugged while playing Pokemon Go.

With the launch of Pokemon Go in Japan, we expect the region to go as Pokemon crazy as the rest of the world, although we have a feeling they're going to take its launch much further.

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