video game studio Kojima Productions condemns “false information” accusing its president

After the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, several false reports circulated. One of them identified the author of the shootings as Hideo Kojima, famous creator of video games like Metal Gear Solid or death stranding. It was notably taken over by Damien Rieu, ex-candidate of the far-right party Reconquête! in the legislative elections on Friday 8 July.

In a now deleted tweet, Damien Rieu responded to LFI MP Clémentine Autain, who was reacting to the death of Shinzo Abe. “The far left kills”, had written Damien Rieu, with photos of Hideo Kojima posing with photos of Che Guevara. The rebellious elected then felt that it was “freewheeling” and in “full racist madness”.

Freewheeling Damien Rieu confuses an assassin with Hideo Kojima, world authority on video games.
The extreme right in full racist delirium. pic.twitter.com/qOAbvRPGiF

— Clementine Autain (@Clem_Autain) July 8, 2022

Faced with these accusations, Hideo Kojima did not react personally. But his studio, Kojima Productions, condemned “firmly” these lies.“Kojima Productions strongly condemns the spread of false information and rumours. We do not tolerate such slander under any circumstances and we reserve the right to take legal action in certain cases”the studio wrote on Twitter on Saturday.

#KojimaProductions strongly condemns the spread of fake news and rumors that convey false information. We do not tolerate such libel and will consider taking legal action in some cases. pic.twitter.com/fDi0FR9kB0

— KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS (Eng) (@KojiPro2015_EN) July 9, 2022

The investigation is continuing in Japan but Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, has confessed to having deliberately shot Shinzo Abe. This man who served in the Maritime Self-Defense Force, the Japanese navy, explained that he resented an organization to which he believed Shinzo Abe was affiliated.