Japan Asked the US to Stop Turning Mario, Pikachu and Naruto into Political Memes

Japanese authorities have repeatedly asked the US administration to stop using popular characters from Japanese video games and anime in official political posts. The requests followed numerous memes and images featuring Mario, Pikachu, Naruto and other characters that appeared on Donald Trump’s administration’s social media accounts. Japanese media reported this, citing government officials.

The issue took a new turn after Trump published an AI-generated video in June 2026 in which he was portrayed as Naruto Uzumaki — the main character of the manga and anime of the same name. In the video, the US president appeared in the character’s distinctive orange-and-black outfit and copied his famous combat gestures. The post sparked a wave of criticism in both the US and Japan.

However, this was far from the first such incident. US government agencies had previously used characters from Japanese pop culture in posts on a wide range of political topics. Social media featured content involving Pokémon, Mario, Naruto and characters from «Yu-Gi-Oh!». Some of the posts were linked to immigration policy and the activities of US law enforcement agencies, while others concerned US military operations. In one case, clips from «Yu-Gi-Oh!» were used alongside images of US strikes on Iran.

It was precisely the combination of recognizable characters with political and military themes that particularly concerned the Japanese side. Tokyo believes that such use could give audiences the impression that the characters, games and anime support certain political views or actions of the US government.

Japanese officials stress that the issue is not limited solely to copyright. Japan’s Minister of State for Economic Security Sanae Onoda said that the use of protected works should in principle take place with the permission of the rights holders. At the same time, even a situation that cannot unequivocally be called a copyright violation can become a problem if a work is used in a way that contradicts its creators’ intentions and damages its image.

According to the Japanese side, the relevant complaints have already been conveyed to the US several times through diplomatic channels. In other words, this is not about a single offhand comment following yet another meme, but about repeated appeals to the US administration. According to Japanese media reports, the most recent such requests were delivered as recently as June.

The situation became particularly sensitive because of Pokémon. The franchise is one of the world’s most recognizable Japanese cultural brands. The Pokémon Company has previously stressed publicly that its mission is not linked to any political position, and that the company had not authorized the use of Pokémon in a number of political posts by the Trump administration.

Japanese culture fans also expressed outrage. In June, an online petition demanding an end to the use of the characters in political posts collected around 20,000 signatures. Users particularly criticized videos in which characters familiar from childhood were associated with discussions of migration, military action and other sensitive political topics.

At the same time, the Japanese government has not announced the launch of legal proceedings against the US and has not claimed that every disputed post constitutes a proven copyright violation. Tokyo’s main focus is on the need to respect intellectual property owners’ rights and not use Japanese cultural symbols in a context that could alter the public’s perception of these characters.

The paradox of the situation is that the memes themselves appear to be designed precisely to go viral. Mario, Pikachu and Naruto are instantly recognizable around the world, so using such imagery allows US government accounts to quickly attract the attention of millions of users. But for Japan, these characters are not merely convenient images for social media; they are commercial and cultural brands with specific rights holders.

Thus, the story of the American memes has unexpectedly turned into a diplomatic dispute over the boundaries of pop-culture use. While the US side continues to use familiar images in its political communications, Tokyo is trying to convey a simple message: Mario, Pikachu and Naruto may be meme characters, but that does not mean their owners agree to become part of the US political agenda.