An employee of the Japanese video game and entertainment company Konami has been arrested by the local authorities for making an attempt on his ex-boss’s life. The employee, a 41-year-old man whose identity has been withheld alongside that of his victim, hit his 48-year-old superior on the head with a fire extinguisher.
According to the Japanese publication Asahi Shimbun Digital, where this news emanates, the employee allegedly told the Metropolitan Police Department that he intended to kill his boss stating, “I was being harassed, and I hit him with the intention of killing him.” He might well have succeeded but for the intervention of colleagues who disarmed and held him till the police arrested him.
As to why he took the action, the assailant claimed he was the victim of “power harassment” from his ex-boss who used his position to abuse him. He stated that he reported the matter to the company’s human resources department, which denied that any such harassment was taking place. Nevertheless, the situation was seemingly resolved in August 2020 when he was transferred to another team. Since the supposed resolution happened over two years ago, there is no telling whether a fresh altercation occurred between the two that prompted the violence or he was acting on old wounds.
Power harassment is a big issue in Japan and it has drawn the attention of the government with steps taken to address it. In 2019, the country’s national legislature, the National Diet, adopted the Power Harassment Prevention Act to address the issue and ensure that victims are protected. Given the steps available to address power harassment, it becomes doubly damning that the employee resorted to violence for his grievances. If he is convicted, he could be facing a life sentence.
Fortunately for the boss, his injuries aren’t fatal. According to the report, will be in the hospital for only one week before he is discharged.
By the way, an assistant producer at the video game company recently revealed that the company is interested in making a new Castlevania game. Not long after his admission, news broke that Konami had filed a new trademark tagged Project Zircon which is reminiscent of an item in the Castlevania game series. While this occurrence does not indicate anything in and of itself, it has resulted in speculations that the company is working on a new title in the franchise.
