AKIPRESS.COM - Nintendo's Pokémon Go has finally launched in Japan, the birthplace of the little virtual monsters, said BBC.

Amid a flurry of social media excitement, Niantic Labs, the software company behind the game, announced it was "finally broadcasting" in Japan.

First released in the U.S., Australia and New Zealand on 6 July and now available in more than 30 countries, the game has been a global phenomenon.

The Japanese launch comes with a McDonalds sponsorship deal.

Fast food restaurants were expected to be advertised as places where people were guaranteed to find Pokémon, or as "gyms" where players can train up their captured monsters for virtual fights.

But a McDonald's spokesman said restaurants would "call on players not to become a bother to customers who are eating."

"The moment I found out the servers were up I jumped right out of bed, got dressed and ran outside with my iPhone and two extra battery packs," Samuel Lucas, an Australian YouTuber based in Japan says. "So far I've been to the Japan post office which was my first poke stop, and now I'm on my way to a big park near my house."

After weeks of stories about people in other countries running into trouble playing the game, Japanese authorities have taken precautions and issued a nine-point safety guide, in cartoon form.

The warnings, by the National Center of Incident Readiness and Strategy for Cybersecurity, included asking users to register with "cool names that are different from real names" and cautioning them against heatstroke as they walk around in the sun.

Just a few hours after the launch, there were already reports of an accident.

A student at Osaka's Kindai University reportedly fell down the stairs while playing Pokémon Go and was taking to hospital, said users on social media.