A Person Who Sent 39 Death Threats to Nintendo Gets Put Behind Bars

On July 24, a man who sent 39 threatening letters targeting Nintendo employees was sentenced to one year in prison with four years suspended.

Kenshin Kazama, a 27-year-old Japanese, sent his messages via an inquiry form from August 22 to November 29 in 2023. He threatened to kill people at the Splatoon Koshien tournaments and other of the company's events. In April 2024, the man was charged, with the prosecution later demanding a one-year prison sentence minimum.

The culprit recently admitted to his actions, saying that the more he lost at Splatoon 3, the more frustrated he became. Earlier he said, "I’ll make you regret bringing such a sh*tty game into this world,", addressing Nintendo.

His actions significantly affected the company, having caused the cancellation of Nintendo Live Tokyo 2024. As noted by Twitter user OatmealDome, one of the employees said in court that they were "terrified" as it reminded them of the Kyoto Animation arson attack in 2019, in which 36 people died. The Kyoto tragedy happened after the company had received similar threatening messages.

According to the judge, the culprit's motive was "selfish" and his actions were "persistent and malicious". On July 24, the court sentenced Kazama to one year in prison as the prosecution had requested. The man also received four years suspended.

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