Responding to both public and officials’ requests, Niantic Labs has finally removed Pokemon Go PokeStops and Pokemon from both the Hiroshima atomic bomb memorial in Japan, and the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C.
A city official for Hiroshima (Tatsuya Sumida) stated to the Associated Press that Niantic granted the city’s request at 1:56 AM on Saturday, a mere six hours before a ceremony to mark the deadly World War II event was to be held.
“We were so relieved,” stated Sumida. “We were worried if those Pokemon were really going to go away in time. We consider the park a sacred place where we pray for the victims of the atomic bombings.”
The AP’s report also went on to mention that Pokemon have been removed from the Holocaust Museum as a result of that organization’s request. No further details are available, but officials at the institution had apparently been requesting the removal since July.
What likely played a significant role in the desire for removal was a particularly disturbing image floating around online that showed a poison gas-producing pokemon (Koffing) inside the Holocaust Museum, near the Helena Rubinstein Auditorium. This theater is used to play the stories of Jews who survived gas chambers.
At the end of July, The Pokemon Company’s J.C. Smith said that it’s currently working on new features that will be “appealing to the fans but also respectful of the private institutions that are affected by it.”
Currently there’s an option to request the removal of a PokeStop or Gym, but as of right now, it’s not an instant solution.
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