Fatal stabbing at Pokémon Center in Tokyo reignites concern over rising stalking cases in Japan

Assailant had previously been arrested on suspicion of violating the Stalker Regulation Law.  

On 26 March, a female employee was stabbed at the Pokémon Center megastore in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro Ward by a male assailant who then stabbed himself. Both were transported to the hospital unconscious but confirmed dead shortly afterwards.

According to reports, the incident occurred at around 7:15 p.m., when a man was seen with a knife at the register. He approached a female store clerk at the counter and stabbed her multiple times before stabbing himself in the neck. Panic ensued as store shelves crashed to the floor, with eyewitnesses saying they heard screams and shouts of “help”, both in Japanese and English, as customers ran from the store, and staff shouted for police.

▼ News report from the scene shortly after the incident.

Police arrived within minutes, securing the scene after staff had ensured all customers had safely left the store. Investigators later confirmed that the assailant had been carrying two knives, and was known to police as he had been arrested in December last year on suspicion of violating the Stalker Regulation Law.

According to police, the victim was 21-year-old part-time worker Moe Harukawa of Hachioji, Tokyo. The assailant, Taiki Hirokawa, 26, was her ex-boyfriend, who had been issued with a restraining order in January, following his arrest on suspicion of stalking Harukawa.

These details bring to light the ongoing problems of stalking in Japan, where cases reached record highs last year and restraining orders topped 3,000 for the first time, with experts saying the problem is far worse than recorded, due to underreporting.

On the 27 March broadcast of Fuji TV’s “Sun! Shine” morning news program, it was revealed that police had advised Harukawa to change jobs, but she continued to work at the Pokémon Center, saying “it was my dream to work here”.

One of the presenters on the program asked why the onus is on the victim to change where they live and work, pointing out that the costs involved make it unfeasible in many cases. They also suggested that there might be some way in future to use technology to alert the victim when the perpetrator is physically within a certain distance.

While the Pokémon Company is yet to release a statement regarding the incident, it has posted a notice of the store’s temporary closure, saying:

Due to the incident that occurred on Thursday, March 26, 2026, at the Pokémon Center Mega Tokyo in Sunshine City, Higashi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo, we will be temporarily closed until further notice, prioritizing our full cooperation with the police and the physical and mental well-being of our staff.

We sincerely apologise for the great concern and inconvenience this has caused everyone.

We will inform you again when we will be reopening for business.

We kindly ask for your understanding.

The Pokémon Center at Ikebukuro’s Sunshine City shopping complex was the largest of its kind when it opened in December 2014. It remains a popular spot with families and overseas visitors.

Sources: FNN, DMenu News, TBS, Mainichi Shimbun
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