Pop Culture

Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has repeatedly called on the US government to cease uploading such posts, stating that "It’s inappropriate even for public institutions to reproduce copyrighted materials without the rightsholders’ consent." This concern was voiced by Minister for Foreign Affairs Toshimitsu Motegi in a parliamentary session back in April, when he made direct reference to a pro-war video that used Nintendo’s Wii Sports.

However, according to a report by Mainichi Shimbun this week, the Japanese Ministry called on the Trump administration to stop using IPs like Naruto, Pokémon and Mario at least twice more this June through the US Embassy in Japan. Japan requested that the US administration take into account the potential damage to these IPs when used without permission in US policy and pro-war related content.