LETTER FROM TOKYO

Geishas, samurais and even ninjas (medieval henchmen) have long fed the imaginations of millions of young people around the world. But when foreigners seize upon figures of Japanese national identity, it can cause considerable tension in the Land of the Rising Sun.

This is what happened with the video game "Assassin's Creed Shadows," produced by Ubisoft. The latest installment in the series is set in Japan for the first time. The release of its trailer last May, provoked an outpouring of online messages in the Archipelago, forcing Ubisoft to postpone the game's release until February 2025, whereas it was initially scheduled for November 2024. An online petition, with close to 100,000 signatures, is now calling for its cancellation.

"I've been following this series since the beginning, and I was happy that it was finally taking place in Japan, but now I'm feeling very angry," commented one player online. The game features two characters, Yasuke and Fujibayashi Naoe. The former, presented as a samurai – but whose status is in fact questionable – did exist.

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