POKEMON LEAVES 200 CHILDREN HOSPITALISED

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TV anime 'Pocket Monster' responsible for adverse effect over more than 700 viewers, most of them sufferring eye discomfort and headaches from the light coming from the TV show.

(Tokyo, 18 Dec 1997) - On 16 Dec, 1997, the popular anime programme 'Pocket Monster' which was aired across Japan at 6.30 in the evening, stirred up a controversy when children watching the show began complaining of various discomforts ranging from nausea to loss of consciousness. By 5pm on 17 Dec, an estimate of 685 people from over 30 prefectures have visited the hospitals, with around 208 being warded -- three of them in serious condition. A further investigation by the police with schools and homes found 704 affected -- 130 of them requiring to be warded.

In a press conference held by Telebi Tokio (Tokyo Television), the station's director, MORIHIRO Akira announced that a team of 3 to 4 pyschologists and child experts is being formed to investigate the matter, and in the event that the show's story content etc should be found harmful, the station will pull the programme off the air.

Also called 'Den no Usenshi Porigon', the show is 30 minutes long, and features a pocket monster which, together with the show's protagonist, fights viruses within the computer. One of the scenes in the show feature spiraling images emitting flashing red-and-blue lights.

Affect viewers suffered sudden headaches, impaired vision, nausea, and in serious cases, loss of consciousness. Three are currently in serious condition, with another 217 and 462 moderatedly and slightly affected respectively. Ninety percent of those warded were elementary school students, while the oldest was a 58 year-old man from the Kanagawa prefecture. Three hundred and ten of the affected were male, while 375 being women.

Medical practitioners who had seen the show attributed the flashing red and blue lights as the possbile cause, reasoning that children's minds are particularly sensitive to strong emissions of light, as well as certain patterns and images. These can result in headaches, nausea, and even loss of consciousness.

(Source: Translated from Mainichi Shinbun 18 Dec 1997)