Japan Gymnast Racks Up 5K Cell Phone Bill Playing 'Pokemon Go'
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TOKYO (CBSDFW/AP) — Japanese Olympic gymnast Kohei Uchimura may be a record six-time world champion, but he won't be encountering much success in his "Pokemon Go" efforts after running up a huge roaming bill in Rio.
Uchimura was stunned to receive a 500,000 yen ($4,900) mobile phone bill after playing the popular augmented-reality game, Kyodo news agency reported Tuesday.
Thankfully for him, his Japanese carrier service agreed to reduce his bill to a 3,000 yen ($30) daily all-you-can-use contract, Kyodo said.
What's funny about the whole ordeal is that the game isn't available in Brazil yet, which means Uchimura didn't even catch any pokemon while racking up the bill.
Uchimura is the reigning gold medalist in the men's all-around competition, and has said he is just as committed to a Japan team gold in Rio de Janeiro as he is to the personal title.
Nikkan Sports newspaper predicted "Uchimura may not get any Pokemon, but he will surely get gold."
Other athletes such as French canoe member Matthieu Peche, were also disappointed to find out there were no pokemon around at the Olympics.
The good news for Peche and Uchimura is that "Pokemon Go" is working on bringing the game to Brazil.
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