News

Kuroko's Basketball Snacks Pulled From Stores Due to Poison Threat

Convenience store chain 7-Eleven began temporarily removing Voi-Colle Kuroko's Basketball Wafers 2 cookies from its Japanese stores shelves on Tuesday, due to a letter that claimed that the writer had left poisoned packages of the snacks in the stores. The sealed letter was delivered on Tuesday by postal mail. Out of the chain's 16,000 stores nationwide, about 1,500 stores carried the snacks, which not only contain a vanilla-cream-flavored wafer cookie, but also a Voi-Colle (Voice Collection) character card. Stores have been removing the wafers after checking first that there are no traces of the packaging being tampered with.

The letter read:

Declaration of Criminal Act

I left food products laced with poison in 7-Eleven.

Pictures of the products were also enclosed. The culprit called himself “Kaijin 801 Mensō,” the same name that the culprit of many of the previous Kuroko's Basketball threat incidents used.

Sankei Shimbun is also reporting on Tuesday that another letter was also sent to Sophia University, Kuroko's Basketball creator Tadatoshi Fujimaki's alma mater, suggesting that a crime will soon be committed. The letter read "X-Day will be on the final day of the school festival." Sankei Shimbun also received a four-page letter postmarked on October 12 mentioning both the threat about the 7-Eleven cookies and about the Sophia University's school festival. Sophia University and 7-Eleven's headquarters also received letters. Police are currently examining the letters for fingerprints and other specifics that might determine if these letters are related to the other string of incidents in the last year.

7-Eleven will continue to keep the wafers removed from stores until "X-Day," which will be on November 4.

Background

Since last October, locations linked to Kuroko's Basketball creator Tadatoshi Fujimaki have received threat letters with powdered and liquid substances. A source in the investigation of the threats said there is a high possibility that the liquid sent to Sophia University (Fujimaki's alma mater) on October 12, 2012 could emit a lethal dose of hydrogen sulfide if vaporized.

Several Kuroko's Basketball dōjinshi events throughout Japan have been cancelled in the aftermath of the threats. The "Shadow Trickster 3" event did proceed without incident at the Big Sight on last October, shortly after the center received its first threat. The official "Kuroko no Basuke produced by Namco Namja Town" event in Tokyo ended 19 days early as a result of the threats, and Animate Café Tennoji in Osaka cancelled a planned Kuroko's Basketball collaboration event. Comic Market (Comiket), the world's largest dōjinshi event, barred Kuroko's Basketball items and circles last December.

In February, the organizers of the Comic City dōjinshi events barred circles from selling Kuroko's Basketball items at March 17's Haru Comic City 18 event, after they received a request to do so from the management of the Tokyo Big Sight event complex. The same organizers had barred Kuroko's Basketball from the Comic City Osaka 92 event on January 6, and then cancelled February 10's Double Clutch event outright. However, they held the Comic City Tokyo 131 event at Tokyo Big Sight and insisted on allowing Kuroko's Basketball circles. Comic City Tokyo 131 proceeded without incident on January 27.

The second season of the Kuroko's Basketball anime began airing earlier this month in Japan. Crunchyroll is streaming the anime outside of Japan as it airs.

Source: Asahi Shimbun