[GameSpot] - Death Stranding Dev Threatens Legal Action After Outlets Use Kojima Photo In Coverage Of Ex-Japan PM Assassination

[343iBot]

Kojima Productions, the Japanese studio behind Death Stranding, has threatened legal action in the wake of media reports that used images of founder Hideo Kojima in their coverage of the recent assassination of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe.

Kojima himself retweeted the message but has not commented further on Twitter. Following the assassination of Abe in Japan on July 8, some media outlets in Greece and Iran shared images of Hideo Kojima, linking him to the shooting, according to Vice. These images may have originated on 4chan. French politician Damien Rieu shared images, too, but later deleted his tweet and apologized.

#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

It's been pointed out by many that Metal Gear Solid 2's story was, in part, about misinformation in the digital age.

Abe--the longest-serving prime minister in Japan's history--was killed on July 8 while giving a speech in Nara, Japan. Police have detained a suspect, Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, who has confessed to the killing with a homemade gun.

At the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, Abe dressed up as Mario to promote Japan's video game industry and to celebrate how the next summer games would be held in Tokyo.

Kojima Productions is now working on a new game with Xbox, but the company remains independent and continues to have a good relationship with PlayStation. Beyond games, Kojima Productions is now selling a charity item to help people fleeing Ukraine.

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