Japan’s Foreign Ministry asked the U.S. government twice this year to stop using Japanese anime characters in political content. The Mainichi Shimbun first reported the news Aug. 4.
The ministry raised concerns with the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo in April and June Officials told the embassy that public institutions need permission from copyright holders before using intellectual property, even for official communications. They also cited infringement risks and potential damage to franchise reputations
The U.S. Embassy said it would relay the Foreign Ministry’s position to Washington. Most of the disputed posts remained online as of mid-August. The Trump administration has not posted new unauthorized Japanese characters since June.
The diplomatic pushback follows months of backlash from Japanese anime fans. A petition on Change.org was launched in March urging President Donald Trump and the White House to stop using the characters without permission. The campaign has drawn nearly 20,000 signatures, according to the BBC. The petition gained fresh momentum in June, after Trump shared an AI-generated video depicting himself as Naruto.
The pattern began in September 2025. The Department of Homeland Security posted a video on X pairing immigration enforcement footage with Pokémon imagery. The White House shared the same clip on TikTok. The clip used the English-language anime theme song and included the catchphrase “Gotta catch ’em all.” It presented arrested individuals in a trading-card format.
Pokémon Company International said it had no role in creating the content included in the post. “We were not involved in its creation or distribution,” said Pokémon spokesperson Sravanthi Dev, according to the BBC.
In March 2026, the White House shared a clip mixing Yu-Gi-Oh! and Dragon Ball footage with U.S. military strikes. The post came after the U.S. entered a conflict with Iran. On June 13, the White House posted another clip titled “Mission Accomplished.” It used footage from various anime, including Dragon Ball Z and My Hero Academia, set to Cowboy Bebop’s theme song.
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi first raised the issue in April. He cited a White House post that used Nintendo’s Wii Sports imagery alongside Iran conflict coverage. He has said public institutions should not reproduce copyrighted works without permission from rights holders.
Neither the White House nor the Department of Homeland Security has issued a public response to Japan’s requests.
