Japan's government has repeatedly urged the United States to stop using anime and video game characters in official social media posts, lodging its latest appeals through the U.S. embassy in June.

Japanese officials have raised objections over the unauthorized use of franchises including Mario, Pokémon, and Naruto in the Trump administration's social media content. Since March, Japan's foreign ministry has called out Washington over the use of anime and game intellectual property without permission, according to local reports. The stakes are meaningful for Tokyo: anime, manga, and gaming are among Japan's most valuable cultural exports, pillars of a decades-long "Cool Japan" soft-power strategy that ties character brands to national identity and billions of dollars in global licensing revenue.

The Pokémon Company confirmed it never granted permission for a Department of Homeland Security clip that combined footage of Ash Ketchum with ICE raid video. A Japanese fan's "Protect Japanese Manga" petition and an AI-generated video depicting President Trump as Naruto further escalated the issue up the diplomatic ladder.

Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told a parliamentary session in April that "it's inappropriate even for public institutions to reproduce copyrighted materials without the rightsholders' consent," referencing a pro-war video that incorporated Nintendo's Wii Sports footage.

In June, Cabinet Minister Kimi Onoda stated that the same principle had been conveyed to the U.S. through diplomatic channels "multiple times." According to Mainichi, Tokyo asked the administration to consider the potential damage to these IPs when used without authorization in policy and pro-war content.

The Posts That Started It

The administration's accounts have leaned on Japanese franchises for over a year.

In September 2025, Homeland Security posted a mash-up of Pokémon's Ash Ketchum and ICE raid footage set to the theme song. The Pokémon Company later said permission was never sought.

In March, the White House X account posted Wii Sports footage cut with Iran strike footage, then a second pro-war clip weaving in Halo, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Dragon Ball, Top Gun, Iron Man, and Braveheart. Master Chief voice actor Steve Downes and Yu-Gi-Oh!'s official account both pushed back.

UNDEFEATED. pic.twitter.com/Jt69bcag5y — The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 12, 2026

The backlash has not been limited to official channels. Fan Nana Suzuki launched a "Protect Japanese Manga" petition on Change.org urging for measures to stop the unauthorized use. Anger flared again in June after President Trump shared an AI-generated video of himself as Naruto on Truth Social. Suzuki reopened the petition "as an urgent effort to convey our protest," and the clip prompted fresh questioning of 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 polices intellectual property more tightly than most nations. Its creative industries protect character IP with particular care, and the government treats unauthorized use by a foreign state as a brand risk rather than flattery. When a decades-old franchise is placed alongside a polarizing policy, what Tokyo describes as "damage to a work's image" refers to the brand dilution that rights holders actively monitor.

The complaint is modest in diplomatic terms—notes delivered to an embassy, not a lawsuit. That Tokyo has chosen back-channel appeals over litigation reflects the broader U.S.-Japan security alliance, where both governments manage friction behind closed doors to preserve a partnership that anchors Indo-Pacific defense cooperation. But the dispute lands at the center of how the White House communicates, raising questions the rights holders have yet to resolve through formal legal action.