Pokemon Go: Japanese Government Issues Warnings, Advice to Players Ahead of Release

Pokemon Go is taking over the world, but one major region where it's not available yet is The Pokemon Company's home country of Japan. The game is reportedly coming soon to the island nation, and ahead of that, the Japanese government has now put out a one-page flier that warns players of potential danger and issues they could encounter while searching for Pokemon.

Japan's National Center for Incident Readiness and Cybersecurity released the flier. It informs people they should be cautious of scams and to be mindful of their personal safety. The notice, reported on by the Associated Press, also informs people they should carry extra batteries and watch out for heatstroke, among other things.

Rocket News 24 obtained the flier, and all nine of the warnings/advice bullet points are listed below:

• Protect your personal information
• Be careful of fake apps and cheat tools
• You should definitely download a weather app
• Be careful of heat stroke
• Carry a reserve battery for your phone
• Be prepared so you can contact your family
• Don't enter dangerous areas
• Be careful of people who say they want to meet you
• Do not walk while using your phone

Pokemon Go is without a release date for Japan, but according to the game's partner in Japan, McDonald's, a release is coming soon. John Hanke, the CEO of Pokemon Go developer Niantic Labs, said previously that the release was being held back until server capacity could be met.

Tokyo-based games analyst Serkan Toto also mentioned possible server issues as the reason why Pokemon Go hasn't launched in Japan yet.

"Nowhere in the world are the mobile gamers, the end consumers, as critical as in Japan. In the U.S., people are accustomed to slow networks, to server outages," he explained.

Pokemon Go itself warns players to be aware of their surroundings while playing the game. 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.

In other news about Pokemon Go, the stars of this week's Star Trek Beyond recently spoke out against the game, calling it "upsetting" and "bizarre."

For more on Pokemon Go, check out GameSpot's review.