Another Death Linked to Pokemon Go in Japan

A second person has died in a case apparently related to Pokemon Go and a motor vehicle in Japan. Japan Times reports that police told media today that a woman in her 20s died Thursday, two weeks after being hit by a car while riding her bicycle. The driver was apparently distracted by Pokemon Go.

"The driver, a worker in his 20s, told investigators he was looking away at the time of the collision as he was trying to charge his mobile phone," The Japan Times reported. "The battery was almost dead, he said, because he had been playing the game."

He was arrested on negligence claims and was later released. Now that the victim has died, authorities are looking into the case as one of "negligence resulting in death."

The announcement of the woman's death today comes just days after the National Police Agency announced on Wednesday the death of a woman in the city of Tokushima on Tuesday. Authorities said a Pokemon Go-playing driver struck two women, killing one and seriously injuring the other. The fatality was believed to be the first linked to Pokemon Go in the country.

According to Japan Times, official figures show there were 79 bicycle and car accidents in Japan linked to Pokemon Go since the game came out there on July 22. These cases have taken place across the country.

Before Pokemon Go's launch in Japan last month, the country's government released a flier that spelled out various warnings related to Pokemon Go.

Through in-game messaging, Pokemon Go itself warns players to be aware of their surroundings while playing the game. Pokemon Go encourages players to go out into the real world in search of Pokemon to catch, but playing behind the wheel is obviously a bad idea. A recent update introduced a prompt stressing that you should not play while driving a car.

Recently, two people walked off an oceanside cliff in California in search of Pokemon, while someone crashed their car into a tree after reportedly admitting to playing the game behind the wheel. Also, a man hit a parked police car because he was reportedly distracted by the game.