Yakuza spin-off shutdown removed from sale in Japan after drug scandal

Sega announced today the stop of Japanese sales of Judgment, the latest action-adventure game from the developer of the Yakuza series.

This sudden decision is motivated by the fact that Pierre Taki, whose voice and portrait are similar used in the game as a Kyohei Hamura character, was arrested as a suspect for use or possession of drugs. Although this does not seem to be a reason to stop selling a game, similar events are common in the entertainment industry in Japan.

The Mainichi News reports that 51-year-old Taki has admitted to using a small amount of cocaine and that the police are currently serving. look for other evidence. If Taki were prosecuted, he could be sentenced to seven years in prison.

On his official website, Sega announced "We have received information about an arrest and we are confirming the facts. We are currently withdrawing the judgment of the sale in Japan, including the physical and digital editions. "

Sega also stated that she would no longer promote the online game, the official Japanese website is no longer accessible and all past tweets of Sega's official Twitter account concerning the game being removed.

It is not known if Sega plans to restart selling the game once things are in place, but the wording of its ad suggests that it could be a temporary move – the Japanese word & # 39; toumen & # 39; roughly translates to "for the moment", but is not a commitment as strong as "temporarily".

It is not known whether this incident will have any influence on the release of the Judgment in the West, scheduled for June 25. At the time of writing, the game is still available on the PlayStation Store in Hong Kong and other parts of Asia. IGN contacted Sega for comments.

Sega has options if she chooses to put the game up for sale. In the recently released remasterization of the Japanese version of Yakuza 4, the voice and likeness of the policeman Tanimura were recast after the original actor, Hiroki Narimiya, withdrew from the film industry. entertainment after unfounded rumors about cocaine. It is also possible that Judgment will receive a patch that replaces the model and voice of Taki's character, Hamura.

Taki also interprets Olaf's voice in Frozen and Kingdom Hearts III and is part of the venerable electro duo Denki Groove; It is unclear whether these other projects will be affected.

Esra Krabbe is editor-in-chief at IGN Japan. He beat Judgment and thought everything was fine.