Overview
- The Japanese government has repeatedly requested that the U.S. refrain from using characters from anime and video games in official social media posts, with the latest requests made through the U.S. embassy in June.
- The Pokémon Company has stated it did not authorize a Department of Homeland Security video that combined Ash Ketchum with footage of ICE operations.
- A petition titled "Protect Japanese Manga" initiated by a Japanese fan and an AI-generated video featuring Trump as Naruto have escalated the issue diplomatically.
Officials from Japan have persistently asked their American counterparts to halt the use of characters like Mario, Pokémon, and Naruto in memes. Since March, Japan's foreign ministry has expressed concerns over the unauthorized employment of anime and gaming intellectual property in social media posts by the Trump administration, as reported by local media.
In a parliamentary session in April, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi remarked that "it is inappropriate for public institutions to reproduce copyrighted content without the consent of the rights holders," citing a pro-war video that misused Nintendo's Wii Sports.
In June, Cabinet Minister Kimi Onoda noted that this message had been communicated to the U.S. through diplomatic channels on several occasions. As reported by Mainichi, Tokyo urged the U.S. to consider the potential harm to these intellectual properties when they are utilized without permission in policy-oriented and pro-war content.
Origin of the Controversy
The U.S. administration has been using Japanese franchises for over a year in its social media posts.
In September 2025, the Department of Homeland Security shared a clip that combined Pokémon's Ash Ketchum with footage of ICE raids, to which the Pokémon Company later confirmed that no permission had been sought. In March, the White House's X account posted a video mixing Wii Sports footage with scenes from a military strike in Iran, followed by a subsequent pro-war clip that included references to Halo, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Dragon Ball, Top Gun, Iron Man, and Braveheart. The voice actor of Master Chief, Steve Downes, along with the official Yu-Gi-Oh! account, expressed their discontent with the usage.
UNDEFEATED. pic.twitter.com/Jt69bcag5y
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 12, 2026
The backlash has not been limited to government officials. A fan named Nana Suzuki initiated a "Protect Japanese Manga" petition on Change.org, advocating for actions to prevent this misuse. The situation became more heated in June when President Trump shared an AI-generated video portraying himself as Naruto on Truth Social, prompting Suzuki to reactivate her petition as an urgent call for protest and leading to further inquiries directed at Onoda on June 12.
米国ホワイトハウスの公式Xアカウントにおいて、
アニメ「遊☆戯☆王」シリーズの映像が、権利者の許諾なく使用されている投稿が確認されました。
本件については、原作およびアニメ関係者は一切関与しておらず、当該知的財産の使用を許諾した事実もございません。It has come to our attention that…
— アニメ「遊☆戯☆王」公式 (@yugioh_anime) March 11, 2026
Japan has stringent intellectual property laws compared to many countries. Its creative sectors are vigilant about protecting character IP, viewing unauthorized use by a foreign government as a risk to their brand image rather than a form of flattery. When a well-established franchise is associated with a controversial policy, the "damage to a work's image" that Tokyo warns about reflects the rights holders' concerns regarding dilution.
While the complaint may seem minor in the grand scheme of diplomacy—consisting of notes to an embassy rather than legal action—it highlights significant issues related to how the White House communicates.