Japan protests unauthorized use of anime characters in U.S. political posts
11 August 2026
The Japanese government has formally raised concerns with Washington following the repeated unauthorized use of iconic anime characters – including figures from Pokémon, Naruto, Dragon Ball and Yu-Gi-Oh! – in U.S. political and military promotional posts and videos.
Japan’s Foreign Ministry made formal requests to the U.S. government through the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo in June, stressing that Japanese intellectual property must not be co-opted without rightsholder consent. Japanese officials highlighted both the risk of copyright infringement and the potential harm to the public image of the works and their rightsholders.
The dispute stems from several high-profile social media posts by the U.S. administration and federal agencies:
- Homeland Security Immigration Campaign: In September 2025, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security posted a video on X featuring Pokémon protagonist Ash Ketchum (Satoshi). The clip showed Ash throwing a Poké Ball before transitioning to footage of arrested undocumented immigrants, set to the franchise’s theme song and slogan, “Gotta Catch 'Em All.” The Pokémon Company said it was not involved in the video’s creation or distribution and that its IP was used without permission.
- Military Promotional Media: In March 2026, following the onset of conflict with Iran, the White House released a video on X incorporating unauthorized imagery of Yugi Muto (Yu-Gi-Oh!) and Beerus (Dragon Ball) alongside clips of U.S. airstrikes. The official Yu-Gi-Oh! account publicly confirmed that no permission had been granted by the creators or copyright holders.
- Political Social Posts: In June 2026, Donald Trump shared an apparently AI-generated video on Truth Social depicting himself as Naruto, the titular character of the popular manga and anime series.
A Japanese official said public institutions should obtain permission before using copyrighted works, noting that despite the United States traditionally positioning itself as a global leader in intellectual property enforcement, the use of Japanese IP in political and military posts has raised concerns in Japan. Despite Tokyo’s formal requests, it remains to be seen whether the U.S. administration will respond to Japan’s requests.
- Asia IP
