Japanese Anime Fans Outraged by Trump's AI Naruto Video, Sparking Protest Petition

(CNA, Tokyo, June 10, comprehensive foreign report) U.S. President Donald Trump's use of images of popular Japanese anime and manga characters on social media, including releasing an AI video transforming himself into "Naruto" protagonist Naruto Uzumaki, has sparked a backlash in Japanese society. Nearly 20,000 people have participated in an online petition to express their protest to the White House and Trump.

According to AFP, the BBC, and The Guardian, nearly 20,000 people have joined a petition on Change.org titled "Protect Japanese Manga."

The petitioners are protesting the unauthorized use of images from "Dragon Ball," "Yu-Gi-Oh!," and "Naruto" by the official White House account on the social media platform X.

Petitioners and other online fans believe that these characters convey important values such as courage, friendship, and perseverance to a global audience, and that Trump's use of them in this manner violates the creators' original intent.

The petition's initiator stated that the campaign was first launched in March and has been submitted to the Japanese government. The White House had previously released a video that mixed footage of a U.S. military attack on Iran with content from several famous film and television works and "Yu-Gi-Oh!."

According to the petition, Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs subsequently raised the issue of the White House's official X account's unauthorized use of "Yu-Gi-Oh!" and Nintendo game content with the U.S. Embassy in Japan.

According to the BBC, The Pokémon Company International has condemned Trump's use of its imagery.

In the latest case, on June 6th, Trump posted an artificial intelligence (AI) video on his own social media platform, "Truth Social," transforming himself into the "Naruto" protagonist Naruto Uzumaki, causing strong dissatisfaction among some fans and prompting the initiator to relaunch the petition on the 9th. (Compiled by: Chen Cheng-chien) 1150611