OSAKA -- Osaka police received a phone call Monday by a man claiming that a bomb had been planted at the Universal Studios Japan theme park here.
Police did not find anything suspicious after searching the grounds of USJ, and investigators said they were looking into the incident as a malicious prank.
The caller, apparently a young man, phoned police at around 10:30 a.m. to say that he had planted a bomb.
"underwater" at the park and that it would be detonated in two minutes, they said, adding he did not make any demands.
Police were dispatched to USJ, located in Konohana Ward, and searched some 80 locations along with roughly 300 workers at the theme park, but nothing suspicious was found, investigators said.
About 10,000 people were in the park at the time, and three attractions, including the Jurassic Park ride, were temporarily shut down.
USJ had received threatening phone calls on three occasions a day earlier, according to police. The previous day's caller, who sounded like a middle-aged man, said bombs had been planted at three locations in the park.
The first call was placed around 3:40 p.m., followed by calls at 4 and 4:30. Police were notified after the first call and searched the park with USJ staff but failed to find anything suspicious.
The theme park also received a bomb threat on Aug. 24, although it did not inform police until late that night, when investigators contacted USJ officials to confirm a rumor that such a call had been made.