Interest
BPO Publishes Complaints About Pokémon Go News Coverage
posted on by Amanda Whalen
The watchdog group Japanese Broadcasting Ethics and Program Improvement Organization, or BPO, published complaints that it collected from the Japanese public about the popular smartphone game Pokémon Go and its portrayal in news programs.
One individual said, "The news programs are all taking up Pokémon Go. Before it was released in Japan, accidents repeatedly occurred overseas. Even thought the Cabinet Office called for caution, reporters said things like, '[Pokémon Go] is here, too,' and were very happy. It's unnecessary to show it expressly like that. If it's introduced like that on television, it's only natural that it would stir up interest in the app."
Another said, "When the news was talking about smartphone games, they warned that using your phone while walking is dangerous, but then it showed the news staff all over town playing the same game, using their phones while walking. That makes their warning less persuasive. If children watch this, then they may think that it's okay to do because adults are doing it."
The BPO has previously published complaints about a scene in Detective Conan in which sushi is eaten off of a woman's body, the masturbation scene in Mr. Osomatsu, a scene involving "suggestive banana-eating" in Yōkai Watch, the violence in Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, and the main characters of PriPara being shown in swimsuits in the ending.
Source: Yahoo News Japan via Otakumu
