Japan is very different from the U.S. And the societal idiosyncrasies couldn't be made more transparent than the example provided by Konami's treatment of Hideo Kojima. A week before E3 started, Kojima Productions revealed they would not be at this year's E3, much to the dissapointment of fans around the world. But a new report from Japanese news site Nikkei might explain why.
It seems Kojima is currently (for lack of a better term) under attack from Konami. At Hideo's last appearance at a gaming convention, he had some slightly critical remarks for Konami's first Metal Gear Solid game since he departed the company and it seems Konami took great exception. So much so that they're blocking his company from registering for Healthcare and they're refusing to pay Kojima a large sum of backpay he's owed.
However, Konami's ire doesn't just stop at Kojima, they're reportedly blacklisting all former Konami employees from finding work in the gaming industry in Japan. With all of that turmoil currently going on, it's understandable why Kojima would choose to sit out E3 this year.
Hopefully the situation resolves itself or it's not too much of a stretch to imagine Western gamers uniting to boycott all Konami games. And while the gaming company would certainly feel that blow, such a move would probably make them lash out at Kojima all the more.