Japan formally asks the US to stop using Mario, Pokémon, and Naruto in government meme posts

Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has formally asked the Trump administration multiple times in June to stop using Japanese game and anime characters — including Mario, Pokémon, and Naruto — in US government social media posts. The requests were made through the US Embassy in Japan, according to a report by Mainichi Shimbun.

The Ministry raised two distinct concerns: the posts violate copyright law because no permission was sought from rights holders, and the unauthorized use in political and pro-war content risks damaging globally recognized brands. Japan's Foreign Affairs Minister Toshimitsu Motegi had already flagged the issue in a parliamentary session in April, specifically calling out a White House post that used Nintendo's Wii Sports footage alongside military footage from Operation Epic Fury airstrikes on Iran. The same White House account later posted a second pro-war video pulling clips from Halo, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Dragon Ball, Top Gun, Iron Man, and Braveheart. The most recent flashpoint came when President Trump shared an AI-generated video of himself as Naruto on Truth Social, reigniting public backlash. The Pokémon Company, Yu-Gi-Oh!'s official account, and Halo's Master Chief voice actor Steve Downes have all publicly stated their content was used without consent. DHS, for its part, made clear after the September 2025 Pokémon raid montage that it had no intention of stopping.

This isn't the first time the US government has used Japanese IP without permission, but the June requests mark an escalation — Japan is no longer just citing copyright law in passing, it's explicitly asking the administration to stop and flagging brand damage as a separate harm. The issue has also gained traction at the grassroots level: a Change.org petition titled "Protect Japanese Manga," started by self-described anime fan Nana Suzuki, drew coverage from the New York Times and BBC, and the organizer claims to have submitted it to Japan's Cabinet Office in March.

Whether the Trump administration will comply is an open question — PC Gamer reports it reached out to DHS and the White House for comment but had not received a reply at time of publication. Given DHS's explicit refusal to stop after the 2025 Pokémon incident, the diplomatic requests face an uphill battle.