Tokyo, en.SERU.co.id – Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has repeatedly contacted the United States Embassy in Tokyo regarding the unauthorized use of Japanese intellectual property in official US government social media posts.
According to a report by the Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun, cited by IGN, Dexerto, Kotaku, Nintendo Wire and other outlets in early August 2026, the ministry raised the issue in April 2026, at least twice in June 2026, and again in August 2026. The concerns focus on characters and footage from franchises including Mario, Pokémon and Naruto.
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi stated in a parliamentary session in April that “it’s inappropriate even for public institutions to reproduce copyrighted materials without the rightsholders’ consent.” He referenced a White House post that incorporated Nintendo’s Wii Sports footage alongside content related to US military action. Cabinet Minister Kimi Onoda later reiterated in a June 12 press conference that obtaining permission from copyright holders remains the basic principle and confirmed the position had been conveyed to the US through diplomatic channels multiple times.
Mainichi Shimbun reported that the ministry conveyed the need to consider the possibility of copyright infringement and damage to the image of the works. Japanese officials asked the Trump administration to take into account the potential impact on these franchises when used without permission in posts linked to policy or military themes.
Examples of the Content in Question
Several official US government accounts have featured Japanese intellectual property over the past year. In September 2025, the Department of Homeland Security posted a video that combined Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid footage with animation and the theme song from the Pokémon anime. The Pokémon Company responded at the time, stating it was not involved in creating or distributing the content and had not granted permission for its intellectual property to be used.
In March 2026, the official White House account on X shared a graphic that used visual elements associated with the game Pokémon Pokopia alongside the slogan “Make America Great Again.” The same account posted a video mixing footage of US military strikes with clips from Wii Sports. Additional posts have included an AI-generated video depicting President Donald Trump as the character Naruto Uzumaki, as well as Mario-related content linked to NASA’s Artemis II mission and elements from other series such as Yu-Gi-Oh!.
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The official Japanese Yu-Gi-Oh! anime account has also stated that the original creators and staff were not involved and that permission had not been provided. Public petitions and fan reactions in Japan also highlighted growing concern over the use of the franchises in government messaging.
Japan has addressed the issue via diplomatic communications rather than formal legal action. As of the latest reports, no official response from the US government to the June and August requests has been publicly detailed.
