How Pokémon sent hundreds of Japanese children to hospital in 1997
South China Morning Post archives show how one ‘shocking’ episode caused seizures, nausea across Japan
Nothing if not controversial, Pokémon is once again hogging the headlines, just as it did on first making the news in Hong Kong, 19 years ago.
On that occasion, the Japanese media franchise was under fire for putting hundreds of viewers in hospitals.
On December 16, 1997, about 4.6 million Japanese households tuned in to watch an episode of Pokémon. In one scene, the show’s beloved Pikachu uses a “Thunderbolt attack”, involving flashes that caused some viewers to experience seizures.
“More than 520 people, mostly children, were rushed to hospitals last night after feeling sick” while watching Pokémon, the South China Morning Post reported a day later. The count later rose to almost 700.
One boy recalled, “I was watching TV but I cannot remember anything at all when it was all over. I felt so sick.” For another, “everything turned white”. One mother, Yukiko Iwasaki, said, “I was shocked to see my daughter lose consciousness. She started to breathe only when I hit her on the back.”