Japan asks Trump not to use Mario and Pokémon in memes

Japan asks Trump not to use Mario and Pokémon in memes

Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has repeatedly asked the Donald Trump administration to stop using popular Japanese video game and anime characters on official U.S. government accounts. The issue arose over memes and videos featuring well-known characters such as Mario, Pokémon and Naruto that have appeared on official accounts of the White House and other U.S. government agencies over the past year.

This was reported by Mainichi Shimbun, citing IGN.

According to reports, Japan sent at least two official requests through the U.S. Embassy in June. The requests emphasized that such use could violate intellectual property rights and have negative consequences if the characters are used in content related to government policies or military matters.

The Pokémon Company also confirmed that it had not granted the U.S. government permission to use its characters. Following the controversy, anime and video game fans launched an international petition called “Protect Japanese Manga,” calling for the protection of copyright.