TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio is set to announce a state of emergency, sources in the Prime Minister's office said, as fears that an epidemic of malfunctioning Argus VR helmets that have already killed over 200 people is part of a massive cyberattack against civilian infrastructure.
This comes after a Twitter post on the account of Argus game developer Kayaba Akihiko claimed that Kayaba himself had intentionally caused the helmets to malfunction in order to hold hostage 10,000 players of the new video game "Sword Art Online", which had its premiere hours earlier. The Associated Press could not verify the authenticity of the post. The Prime Minister's office has denounced the publishing of this statement as a hoax, as did a representative of Argus. Kayaba could not be reached for comment.
The Prime Minister's office has yet to respond to the rumors of a declaration of a state of emergency.
Throughout the Tokyo metropolitan area, hundreds of ambulances rushed people trapped in VR helmets to hospitals. At least 213 have been confirmed dead as of 8:00 PM, while local media reports that another person has allegedly died from a malfunctioning helmet.