Pokemon no Go in Hiroshima memorial

Authorities in Japan’s Hiroshima city on Thursday urged the creators of the highly popular augmented reality game Pokemon Go’s creators to keep its virtual monsters out of memorials to victims of the atomic bomb

Tokyo: Authorities in Japan’s Hiroshima city on Thursday urged the creators of the highly popular augmented reality game Pokemon Go’s creators to keep its virtual monsters out of memorials to victims of the atomic bomb.

The Peace Memorial Park has 30 Pokestops and three gyms. Pic/AFP

In a statement, the authorities said it wanted the monsters removed by August 6, when an annual ceremony is held on the anniversary of the 1945 bombing. It follows a request by the operators of the Fukushima nuclear plant – highly radioactive after its 2011 meltdown – to keep Pokemon out of its plants.

Hiroshima's Peace Park, which includes a memorial and a museum dedicated to the 140,000 people killed in the world's first nuclear attack, occupies a large, quiet area in an otherwise crowded city. There are around 30 Pokestops in the park, and three “gyms,” where gamers can battle other players' Pokemon.

Nagasaki, where 74,000 people were killed by an atom bomb days after Hiroshima, has also asked for Charizard, Pikachu and their friends to be removed from its peace park and museum.

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