Japanese officials have repeatedly asked the U.S. government to stop using popular characters from franchises like Mario, Pokémon, and Naruto in social media posts, citing potential harm to these intellectual properties. The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has made multiple requests through diplomatic channels and the U.S. Embassy in Japan to cease these unauthorized uses.
These calls stem from the Trump administration's practice of incorporating characters from Japanese anime and games into memes and videos shared on official U.S. government social media accounts. Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that it is inappropriate for public institutions to reproduce copyrighted materials without the consent of rights holders. This concern was echoed by Minister for Foreign Affairs Toshimitsu Motegi in April, who referenced a pro-war video that featured footage from Nintendo's Wii Sports.
More recently, in June, President Trump shared an AI-generated video depicting himself as Naruto, the protagonist of the manga and anime series of the same name, on his Truth Social account. This incident prompted renewed discussion in Japan's media and government. Cabinet Minister Kimi Onoda reiterated at a June 12th press conference that obtaining permission from copyright holders is fundamental for fair use, a position that has been communicated to the U.S. government multiple times.
The controversy has also drawn attention from Japanese fans. A petition titled "Protect Japanese Manga" was launched on Change.org by Nana Suzuki, a self-proclaimed manga and anime enthusiast. The organizer claims to have alerted Japanese politicians and submitted the petition to the Japanese Cabinet Office, drawing international media coverage and potentially increasing official scrutiny.
This issue is not new. In September 2025, the Department of Homeland Security posted a mash-up video using Pokémon's Ash Ketchum and ICE raid footage. The Pokémon Company eventually issued a statement clarifying that no permission had been sought for the use of its characters. Similarly, the official White House X account posted videos featuring clips from various franchises, including Halo, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Dragon Ball, alongside military footage. Statements calling out the unauthorized use of copyrighted content have been made by The Pokémon Company, the official Yu-Gi-Oh! account, and Master Chief voice actor Steve Downes.
Despite these concerns, a former Trump administration spokesperson, Abigail Jackson, described the administration's meme-focused social media strategy as highly effective in a New York Times report, stating, "Through engaging posts and banger memes, we are successfully communicating the president’s extremely popular agenda."