Japan‘s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has reportedly formally warned U.S. officials about the Trump administration’s use of Japanese games and anime in government social media posts. The diplomatic push concerns Pokemon and several other high-profile properties.
The Trump administration has spent nearly a year incorporating video game and anime imagery into official messaging promoting its policies and military actions. The practice became particularly visible in September 2025, when the Department of Homeland Security released a Pokemon-themed immigration enforcement video that was also shared by the White House. In 2026, the administration continued the trend with posts drawing on Pokemon Pokopia, Wii Sports, Super Mario Galaxy, Yu-Gi-Oh, Animal Crossing, and Naruto. Some international outlets and political opponents have explicitly described the White House’s war-themed meme videos as propaganda, particularly those combining entertainment footage with images of U.S. military strikes.
U.S. Officials Reportedly Warned That Using Japanese IP Still Requires Permission
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via The Pokemon Company
According to an August 3 Mainichi Shimbun report, Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs raised its concerns with the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo in April and again in June 2026. The ministry is said to have told U.S. officials that public institutions are not exempt from obtaining permission to use intellectual property and asked them to consider both potential copyright infringement and possible damage to the image of the works involved. The embassy reportedly said it would relay Japan’s concerns to Washington, though the main posts in question remained online as of the end of July 2026.
I’m Abhishek Sharma, an author at TigerJek.com. I enjoy exploring games, testing different strategies, and turning what I learn into clear, useful guides. My goal is to help players understand the game better and improve without the usual confusion.
