Tokyo Pokémon Center announces reopening after months-long closure following stabbing death

Ikebukuro Pokémon Center and Pikachu Sweets cafe immediately closed following tragic event.

The Pokémon Center Mega Tokyo, located inside the Sunshine City shopping center in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro neighborhood, was the second Pokémon Center to open in Japan, and is the longest continually operating Pokémon superstore (the very first Pokémon Center, in Yokohama, relocated to a new location within the city a few years ago). Being situated in a part of Tokyo that sees massive numbers of both local and tourist shoppers, the Ikebukuro Pokémon Center was always packed with fans from around the world, but it’s been closed for the past four months, following the fatal stabbing of an employee who was attacked while at work by an ex-boyfriend.

In addition to the immediate closing of the Ikebukuro Pokémon Center and the Pikachu Sweets dessert cafe located in the same building, events at Pokémon Centers nationwide were cancelled for the month of April. The other branches remained open, however, gradually reintroducing in-store events, and now the Ikebukuro Pokémon Center has announced its reopening date as well.

The reopening for both the Pokémon Center Mega Tokyo and Pikachu Sweets will be on August 24. Though the announcement makes no direct mention of the tragic circumstances that led to its closing, it does acknowledge the issue of safety within the store, as well as the kindness of those who have expressed sympathy for the staff.

It’s worth noting that in setting the reopening date for August 24, the Ikebukuro Pokémon Center and Pikachu Sweets will remain closed during the roughly week-long Obon holiday season that takes places in early August, as well as almost the entirety of Japanese schools’ summer vacation period (Tokyo public schools this year are on vacation from mid-July until August 31), and will also be closed during the height of the summer inbound foreign tourist surge. In doing so, the Pokémon Company will be foregoing a huge amount of revenue they would have easily made, but this is clearly a situation where ensuring safety and showing respect have been deemed more important than rushing back to literal business as usual.