Mario, Pikachu, and Naruto at the Service of the White House: Tokyo Says Stop

Pikachu and Mario in the clips. Since September 2025, several official American accounts have been using characters and images from Japanese licenses in political content. Tokyo has finally reacted: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs conveyed its concerns to Washington in April and then in June, according to the Mainichi newspaper.

Key Points {#h-key-points}

• The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs raised its concerns with the American embassy in Tokyo in April and then in June.
• Official American accounts have been using Pokémon, Wii Sports, Halo, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Naruto without permission since September 2025.
• Neither Nintendo nor The Pokémon Company has filed a complaint, and the videos remain online.
• Japan aims for 20 trillion yen in overseas content revenue by 2033 and is focusing on the tokenization of its licenses.

Tokyo Reminds Washington of Copyright Law {#h-tokyo-reminds-washington-of-copyright-law}

When questioned in front of the Diet about a video using images from Wii Sports, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi reminded that a public institution cannot freely reproduce a protected work without the owner's permission.

Kimi Onoda, the minister in charge of economic security, then clarified that this position had been conveyed to the United States multiple times. According to the Mainichi, the Japanese government contacted the American embassy in Tokyo in April and then in June. It notably requested an assessment of the consequences of using Japanese licenses in political or military videos.

The sequence began in September 2025. The Department of Homeland Security had released a montage associating Ash, the Pokémon hero, with ICE operations, accompanied by the series' theme. The Pokémon Company then indicated that no permission had been requested.

Other content followed. The White House used sequences from Wii Sports with images of strikes on Iran, as well as excerpts or references to Halo, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Dragon Ball, and several Hollywood productions. Steve Downes, the voice of the character Master Chief, and the official Yu-Gi-Oh! account distanced themselves from these montages.

In June, Donald Trump also shared on Truth Social an AI-generated video depicting him as Naruto. A few days later, Kimi Onoda publicly confirmed Japan's diplomatic efforts.

Japan Protects a Strategic Heritage {#h-japan-protects-a-strategic-heritage}

Tokyo has announced neither a complaint nor retaliatory measures. This restraint comes as Japan negotiates with the United States on tariffs and regional security. Nintendo and The Pokémon Company have not initiated any proceedings either, and the main videos remain accessible.

However, the stakes go beyond the symbolic protection of popular characters. The Cool Japan strategy sets a goal of 20 trillion yen in revenue from Japanese content abroad by 2033, roughly four times the level of 2022. Manga, anime, and video games thus constitute major economic assets whose owners seek to control their image and political uses.

Japan also aims to develop the digital management of these licenses. Since 2022, several documents from the Liberal Democratic Party have presented manga and video games as assets that could be associated with NFTs, tokenized communities, or blockchain rights management systems.

For Tokyo, the challenge is to prevent its most popular characters from becoming instruments of political or military communication without their owners' consent. By prioritizing diplomatic channels, Japan protects its cultural and commercial interests without opening a new conflict with Washington.

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