Japan raises concerns over U.S. anime use

Japan raises concerns over U.S. anime use | The DONG-A ILBO

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Japan raises concerns over U.S. anime use

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Posted August. 05, 2026 08:49,   

Updated August. 05, 2026 08:49

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한국어

The Donald Trump administration has drawn protests from Japan after using popular anime characters, including those from Pokémon and Naruto, without permission in promotional videos backing its immigration crackdown and other policy initiatives, according to the Mainichi Shimbun and other Japanese media on Tuesday.

Japan’s Foreign Ministry raised the issue with the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo in April and again in June, objecting to the Trump administration’s unauthorized use of Japanese anime characters. The ministry said Japanese intellectual property may not be used without the consent of its creators and urged the U.S. government to consider both the risk of copyright infringement and the potential damage to the works’ public image.

Last September, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security posted a video on X promoting the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement campaign featuring Ash Ketchum, the Pokémon protagonist known as Satoshi in Japan. The clip showed the character throwing a Poké Ball before cutting to the faces of arrested undocumented immigrants, accompanied by the franchise’s iconic slogan, “Gotta catch them all,” and its theme song.

In March, shortly after the outbreak of the Iran war, the White House posted another video on X using imagery from “Yu-Gi-Oh!” and “Dragon Ball” without authorization to promote a U.S. military operation. The video featured Yugi Muto, the hero of Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Beerus, the Dragon Ball god of destruction, intercut with footage of U.S. airstrikes on Iran. The Yu-Gi-Oh! production company responded by saying neither the original creator nor anyone involved in the anime had participated in the video or granted permission for its intellectual property to be used. Trump also posted an image on Truth Social in June depicting himself fused with Naruto, the title character of the Naruto series.

According to the Mainichi Shimbun, a Japanese government official complained that while the United States has long championed the protection of intellectual property rights, the Trump administration is now borrowing another country’s intellectual property to advance its own political messaging. Despite Tokyo’s objections, the administration has yet to take down any of the videos.

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