It's being reported that a higher-up at Konami has been attacked by an employee, with the alleged assailant now charged with attempted murder. According to early reports, the suspect attacked his former boss at 11am, hitting him with a fire extinguisher.
According to the Japanese outlet Asahi Shimbun Digital, the suspect has admitted that he wished to harm his former boss, saying that he "hit him with the intention of killing him." This is said to have stemmed from allegations of workplace harassment, with the suspect reporting his boss over some form of abuse in 2020.
Both the suspect and the victim have not been named at the time of writing. Konami is yet to comment on the matter. The only information released on the suspect is that he is 41 years old, and hasn't worked with his former boss since his complaints in 2020.
Despite his issues with this boss, it appears he was still working at Konami at the time of the attack, albeit in a different department.
Given that our information on the story comes from local outlets translated online, it's not completely clear when the attack took place. The report says the Konami boss was attacked at "11:00 am on the 11th." It's not clear if that means it took place earlier today, since it's also being reported that the victim suffered a "seven-day" injury. Admittedly, this could be a mistranslation, and instead be referring to the amount of time the victim is likely to spend in the hospital.
Other than that, all we know is that, according to local police, the suspect was apprehended by another employee. He was then handed over to the authorities, where he was charged with attempted murder. The victim's current condition is not known, nor is the suspect's motive for the attack, three years after his initial issues with his former boss.
TheGamer has contacted Konami for comment on the matter and will update this report with any response we receive.
This isn't the first time Konami has been at the centre of a criminal investigation. In 2020, a high school student was arrested for threatening to blow up Konami HQ. The 16-year-old was said to have made these threats publicly online, having lost connection in a game he was playing. According to reports at the time, he left reviews for the game reading: "I’m going to blow up Konami’s headquarters," and "I’m going to kill the people who work at Konami." It's not clear if he was planning to act on these threats, as he wasn't given the opportunity - the police arrested him soon after.