The Pokémon Company has introduced a facial recognition system in its Japanese card stores to address the persistent issue of scalping and prevent associated criminal activity. The system is designed to identify customers who attempt to enter a store more than once within a 24-hour period and will deny re-entry.
This initiative, announced via the official Pokémon Card Game website on July 24, follows a previous measure implemented on July 21 that mandated the use of Japan's "My Number" identification cards for limiting online and in-store purchases and lottery entries for Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) products. The facial recognition system specifically targets in-person purchases at Pokémon Card Stores.
According to the announcement, the facial recognition system will verify the identity of customers aged elementary school age and older. Its stated purposes include providing a safe and secure shopping environment, preventing crime, and ensuring compliance with entry and purchase rules. The notice also indicates that staff may engage with individuals who make multiple attempts to enter the store.
While the specific consequences for attempting to bypass the system appear to be limited to individual discussions with store staff, it remains unclear whether the one-time entry restriction applies per store or across all Pokémon stores in a region. The effectiveness of this measure in deterring scalpers is yet to be determined.
Initial reactions to the announcement outside of Japan have been varied. However, comments from individuals in Japan shared on social media platforms appear to be largely in favor of the new system, suggesting a strong local desire to curb scalping practices. The implementation highlights the escalating problem of scalping that necessitates such technological interventions in the retail environment.