Japan’s government raises concerns over real-life implications of Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is now turning out to be the most controversial game as members of the Japanese government also raise concerns about the in-game destruction of a shrine. These included people getting the wrong historical information and real-life acts of destruction as the Assassin’s Creed is quite popular among gamers.

The discussion on the matter started during a recent assembly meet where ‘Kata Hiroyuki’, asked about the viral video of Yasuke destroying a shrine as a way to show off environmental destruction. This comes from 'itmedia' via Google Translate.

Responding to the question, Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru said, “It is natural to have respect for a country's culture and religion, and it is important to send out the message that we will not tolerate any acts that do not respect the culture and religion of that country.”

Concerns regarding real-live vandalism

Further talking about Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Kata said that he also spoke to the chief priest of the shrine which was depicted as asking if Ubisoft took permission to use their name, to which the priest responded ‘No’. Another topic of concern he raised was regarding ‘tourist pollution’ or people imitating the instance of Yaskue destroying the shrine.

“I'm concerned that attacks and acts of destruction at places used without permission in the game will be imitated in real life. The chief priest and other people involved were also worried about this. Of course, freedom of expression must be respected, but acts that belittle the culture of a place should be avoided,” Kata said while noting that these things weren’t possible in other games that took place in other countries.

The Prime Minister responded after a brief discussion saying it is an insult to the country. “It is natural to have respect for the culture and religion of a country, and I think it is important to send out the message that we will not tolerate any behavior that does not respect the culture and religion of a country and will not tolerate it,” he added.

Also Read:Assassin's Creed Shadows critic reviews are revealed a day ahead of release

Assassin’s Creed Shadows Japan release will be a bit different

This is not the first time Ubisoft is getting in trouble in Japan due to Assassin’s Creed Shadows. The clip of Yasuke previously made headlines for a similar reason for which the company apologized. Ubisoft also made a lot of changes in the Japanese version to make up for all the backlash. This included the removal of dismemberment and in-game changes to avoid a ban in the country.