Yuuki Kitada

Mr. Theisen
Individuals and Societies
March 6th, 2018

Is ​Pokémon Go​ ​More Beneficial or Harmful to Japanese Society?

Imagine there are tons of animated creatures, broadcasted on television, all around you . The

creatures are wandering around at stations, parks, buildings, streets, etc. It's been more than a year since

the augmented reality smartphone game, Pokémon Go, was released in Japan, enticing people to search

outside for virtual "Pokémon" monsters. The game filled parks and public areas with millions of people

from children, middle-aged, to elderly. The release of Pokémon Go has brought significant beneficial

effects over harmfulness on Japanese society. This essay will introduce three aspects of Japanese society

that have been beneficially affected by Pokémon Go, which are tourism, disaster recovery, and health

care.

Japanese tourism is a very important part of its economy and it is well-known across the world.

Therefore, Japan has refined its tourism to attract more tourists by using Pokémon Go after its release.

These actions attracted many of its fans and created a massive boost to the Japanese economy. In Tottori

Prefecture, a three-day Pokémon Go Safari Zone event was held on November 24th-26th, 2017. Even

though the game's popularity has slowed down since its release, this event attracted as many as 89,000

people to the Tottori Sand Dunes and the surrounding areas which broke the record of the area by

doubling the previous tourist record. In addition, Pokémon Go helped generate around 1.8 billion yen in

travel and tourism income for Tottori Prefecture.1,2,3,4 Besides Tottori Prefectures, there are many tour

sites that use Pokémon Go to attract more tourists in and out of Japan. Several tour sites in Kyoto and

1
​"Japan's Tottori Sand Dunes see tourism boost from Pokemon Go event." Gamasutra. 1.
2
​"Pokémon GO generates $16 million in tourism revenue for Japan’s Tottori Prefecture in just three days." Pokémon Blog. 1.
3
​"Pokémon GO Tottori Sand Dune Event Raises ¥1.8 Billion In Tourist Revenue, 89,000 People Visits." The Nihon Keizai Shinbun Electronic
Version. 1.
4
​"Pokemon GO Travel: 3.36 billion Pokémon caught, 89K attendees in Japan, $16 million in local revenue generated." Pokemon GO Hub. 1.
Fukushima prefectures have created tour sitemaps which inform tourists where various Pokémon

monsters are located. On the other hand, numerous tour sites, such as UNESCO World Heritage sites,

have banned or indicated not to play Pokémon Go inside the area because of their concerns of the risks of

accidents with those people who play the application. For example, in Gunma Prefecture, there were

several warning signs posted in the Tomioka Silk Mill, a UNESCO World Heritage site, to avoid players

to go off-limit areas. Also, many shrines, such as Izumo Grand Shrine in Shimane Prefecture and

Kotohira-gu in Kagawa Prefecture, banned playing Pokémon Go in order to concentrate on its tour site

and to not be distracted by it.5,6 However, the game's extreme economic benefits in Japan cannot be

disregarded, and there are more advantages beyond money.

Japan had massive and tragic events caused by natural hazards such as tsunami and earthquakes,

and Pokémon Go has helped these areas recover. The damaged caused by the powerful earthquakes and

tsunami led to a major slump in some disaster-affected areas. For example, the radiation from the

Fukushima nuclear power plant incited a devastating impression about the affected region on many

people inside and outside Japan. Including this prefecture, Pokémon Go helped attract more visitors to

the disaster-struck regions. On November 2016, Niantic Inc., an American software development

company that produced Pokémon Go, held an extraordinary Pokémon Go event in Japan's tsunami-struck

areas in 2011, which includes Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima Prefectures. The objective of this event was

to generate interest with players and for them to visit tsunami-struck places in order to regain incomes and

visitors. Niantic Inc. made the coastline of these areas a spawning place for an elusive Pokémon monster

called Lapras, which is a rare beast that caused chaos on a street of Tokyo one day. The spawning of

Lapras attracted more than 100,000 tourists to these areas and had a tourism income of approximately 2

billion yen, which is a massive amount of money to help these regions to recover.7,8 Pokémon Go has

5
​"Japanese tourist sites on alert following Pokemon Go launch." The Japan Times. 2.
6
​Japan's tourism sites make provision for Pokemon Go | Inside Japan Tours. 2.
7
​"Pokémon GO Lapras Event Raises $17 Million In Tourist Revenue For Tsunami-Hit Japanese Region." Nintendo Life. 3.
8​
"Pokemon Go Throws Lapras Event in Japan to Boost Tourism." Pokemon on WWG. 3.
helped many prefectures attract and recover more tourists and tourism income since this game has been

released in Japan, which has positively changed their impression as well as an economic recovery.

Besides bringing an economic boost and a vast recovery on Japanese tourism, Pokémon Go

became a fitness tool for middle-aged and elderly people. This smartphone application has created an

acceptable opportunity for older people to go outside. "I keep playing it as I have few other reasons to go

out," said a 56-year-old company employee who lives in Osaka. The rate of Japanese Pokémon Go

players of 20s to 30s decreased to 52 percent from 62 percent after 12 months from the release, while

people aged 40 or older increased to 48 percent from 38 percent. Meanwhile, there were some vehicular

accidents caused by Pokémon Go. Just when Pokémon Go released in 2016, a man playing the

augmented-reality game while driving a van had hit two pedestrians, killing one.9 However, as indicated,

older people are continuing to enjoy the application. In several senior citizen clubs and organizations,

Pokémon Go is used as a way to increase their outdoor activities. Also, Akira Hata, a professor at Chiba

University's Centre for Preventive Medical Sciences, praise Pokémon Go as a fitness tool and indicates

that walking helps prevent obesity and suffering from high cholesterol.10 Thus, Pokémon Go also helped

older people to maintain health and stay fit as well as a way for some Japanese tour sites to attract visitors.

Smartphone games are recognized to be a tool to entertain users, and various citizens oppose

them because of their negative impacts on game players. However, the game of Pokémon Go has

generated beneficial effects for Japanese society from different aspects, which include tourism, disaster

recovery of affected regions, and maintaining health. Even though there are many issues with these

smartphone games, games such as Pokémon Go in Japan have greatly profound effects on society, which

citizens should keep in mind.

9
​"Driver in Japan Playing Pokémon Go Kills Pedestrian." The New York Times. 3.
10
​"One year after release, Pokemon Go is fitness tool for older people." Kyodo News. 3.
Bibliography :

"Driver in Japan Playing Pokémon Go Kills Pedestrian." The New York Times. Accessed February
24, 2018.
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/26/business/japan-driver-pokemon-go-kills-pedestrian.html​.

"Japanese tourist sites on alert following Pokemon Go launch." The Japan Times. Accessed March
01, 2018.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/07/24/national/social-issues/japanese-tourist-sites-alert-fo
llowing-pokemon-go-launch/#.WpiPXpN949c​.

Japan's tourism sites make provision for Pokemon Go | Inside Japan Tours. Accessed February 26,
2018.
https://www.insidejapantours.com/japan-news/4021/japans-tourism-sites-make-provision-for-poke
mon-go/​.

"Japan's Tottori Sand Dunes see tourism boost from Pokemon Go event." Gamasutra. Accessed
February 24, 2018.
https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/310786/Japans_Tottori_Sand_Dunes_see_tourism_boost
_from_Pokemon_Go_event.php​.

"One year after release, Pokemon Go is fitness tool for older people." Kyodo News. Accessed
February 26, 2018.
https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2017/07/2260c4fc6b84-feature-one-year-after-release-poke
mon-go-is-fitness-tool-for-older-people.html​.

"Pokémon GO generates $16 million in tourism revenue for Japan’s Tottori Prefecture in just
three days." Pokémon Blog. Accessed February 24, 2018.
https://pokemonblog.com/2017/11/30/pokemon-go-generates-16-million-in-tourism-revenue-for-
japans-tottori-prefecture-in-just-three-days/​.

"Pokémon GO Lapras Event Raises $17 Million In Tourist Revenue For Tsunami-Hit Japanese
Region." Nintendo Life. December 20, 2016. Accessed February 26, 2018.
http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2016/12/pokemon_go_lapras_event_raises_usd17_million_in_t
ourist_revenue_for_tsunami-hit_japanese_region​.

"Pokemon Go Throws Lapras Event in Japan to Boost Tourism." Pokemon on WWG. November
12, 2016. Accessed February 26, 2018.
http://wwg.com/pokemon/2016/11/12/pokemon-go-throws-lapras-event-in-japan-to-boost-tourism/​.
"Pokémon GO Tottori Sand Dune Event Raises ¥1.8 Billion In Tourist Revenue, 89,000 People
Visits." The Nihon Keizai Shinbun Electronic Version. Accessed February 26, 2018.
https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXLASFL30HQH_Q7A131C1000000/​.

"Pokemon GO Travel: 3.36 billion Pokémon caught, 89K attendees in Japan, $16 million in local
revenue generated." Pokemon GO Hub. November 30, 2017. Accessed February 26, 2018.
https://pokemongohub.net/post/news/pokemon-go-travel-3-36-billion-pokemon-caught-89k-atten
dees-japan-16-million-local-revenue-generated/​.
 IAS Persuasive Essay Evaluation

In this summative assessment, I produced a persuasive essay on either Pokemon Go is beneficial

or harmful to the Japanese society. First, I believe that the research process went smoothly without any

troubles and obstacles. Since I narrowed down my topic to the Japanese society, it made me easier to find

and organize main points. Also, since Pokemon Go was released in Japan just two years ago, there were

many recent and credible news articles on this topic that I chose. Unlike, last time, I was able to use more

credible sources such as The Japan Times, The New York Times, and CNN. There were many credible

Japanese articles which helped me gather more information on Pokemon Go. However, for the second

topic that I chose which was about maintaining health, I think I should have researched more about it.

There was more information relating to tourism than health care, and I had could only find two credible

sources on it. So, as an improvement, I could have use a wide range of terms as research keywords in

order collect more information on it.

Since I found two main points while researching, it was easy for me to construct a five paragraph

persuasive essay in my writing process. I was able to just dump ideas and information onto a paper and

rearrange them into reasonable orders. Also, the handed outline sheet really helped me put together

information and organize structures and ideas. This outline sheet made me clarify what I am going to talk

about, the thesis, and how I am going to conclude this essay. I found out that the process of pre-writing is

very important when writing essays. This process really helps me identify what I must put in the essay

and how I structure and organize them.

In my own definition, the purpose of a persuasive essay is to convince the reader what you want

them to do or make them agree with your opinion of argument. My essay is more of making the reader

agree with my opinion that Pokémon Go has more benefits than harmfulness rather than persuading or

convincing readers to play Pokémon Go. Even though there were few websites that were not credible, I
think I produced a reasonable and agreeable persuasive essay, and I believe this will change many

people's impression of Pokémon Go. Since persuasive essays require academic and professional terms in

order to persuade the reader, I learned many new vocabularies and synonyms that are more academic and

professional. Also, since this was my first time referencing in-text, I learned how to use the proper

Chicago system in an essay. I can now use the footnote system on Google Docs with a function called

"Supertext" in order to complete a bibliography with in-text referencing. Lastly, as I read the comments

and feedbacks from Mr. Theisen and an example of a persuasive essay, I learned how a persuasive essay

is structured and organized. Also, I learned how to write a transition sentence that makes smooth flow

between paragraphs.

Now that I have produced a persuasive essay on Pokémon Go, I believe that it is very difficult to

persuade readers through this type of writing. This is because essays cannot have visual images and

diagrams. If visual images are used, it makes the reader imagine easier about it and helps us to persuade

them with stronger supports. Also, since diagrams are not to be used in essays as well, it was hard for me

to describe the data on a website through only words. If diagrams were allowed, I could have had an

easier writing process. So, to conclude, I think that is really hard to persuade readers through this type of

writing was visuals are not allowed.