Kojima Productions, the game development studio behind Death Stranding, responded to hoax posts concerning the assassination of Shinzo Abe. The studio’s founder, Hideo Kojima, appeared in images posted on 4chan linking him to the tragic event that took place on July 8, 2022.
These edited images attempted to fool people into thinking Hideo Kojima was an unhinged left-wing terrorist by showing him wearing an Ushanka hat worn by Russian soldiers of the former Soviet Union.
Kojima Productions tweeted the following regarding these posts:
Regardless of the sheer absurdity of these images, they caught the attention of Damien Rieu, a French far-right politician. He then posted these images and allegedly claimed that, “The far left kills,” in a tweet written in French. He later deleted this tweet and issued the following apology on his Twitter account:
The tweet translates as follows in English:
I naively took a joke for information. I didn’t think we could make humor about the assassination of a man but I was wrong not to check before sharing. My apologies to #HideoKojima and #MetalGear fans 🙏🏼
Unfortunately, the dissemination of these images didn’t end there. These reportedly appeared in Greek and Iranian news broadcasts, further fanning fake news about the assassination of the former Japanese prime minister.
But who did assassinate Shinzo Abe?
Police have identified Tetsuya Yamagami as the assassin of Shinzo Abe. The unemployed 41-year-old man killed Abe in the city of Nara, in western Japan, during a campaign appearance. Yamagami approached Abe from behind and fired two shots from his handmade gun. The first shot missed Abe, but the second shot was fatal, thus ending the 67-year-old’s life.
Experts have studied video footage from all angles and claim that security lapses facilitated the assassination. Yamagami was apprehended and currently undergoing psychiatric evaluation, which will last until November 29. The evaluation will determine whether or not Yamagami should be charged for the assassination.
His prime motivation for targeting Abe was that he believed he was promoting a religious group that defrauded his mother. He followed Abe along his campaign trail across several cities and eventually went through with the assassination in Nara.
The politics of Kojima Productions games
The 4chan posts assert that Hideo Kojima is a leftist extremist of some sort. While that’s not the case, Kojima Productions games are drenched in left-wing politics, especially the Metal Gear Solid series.
Much of the stealth series’s narrative explores the stark political differences between the east and west during the cold war and its aftermath. And there’s a copious amount of criticism regarding capitalism, imperialism, and war in the general sense.
In short, Hideo Kojima implores his audience to understand the ramifications of unbridled capitalism and callous policies as these are presented through larger-than-life characters and situations in his games. Moreover, his games convey a deeply thought out and moral message that all should appreciate, regardless of their political leanings.
We hope to see Kojima Productions deal with the culprits that spread the fake posts appropriately. And we hope to see Hideo Kojima make further cameos in games, just as he did in Cyberpunk 2077. Stay tuned!