White House Unauthorizedly Uses Japanese Anime in Multiple Social Media Posts

According to Japan's Mainichi Shimbun on the 4th (Tuesday), the U.S. White House has repeatedly used Japanese anime materials—including Pokémon, Naruto, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Dragon Ball—without authorization in its social media campaigns promoting policies on countering Iran and addressing illegal immigration. Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already lodged formal protests with the U.S. Embassy in Japan in April and June this year.

Japanese officials emphasized that even government agencies must obtain prior permission from creators before using copyrighted works. They warned that such actions could constitute copyright infringement and potentially damage the image of the original works.

The U.S. side responded that it would report Japan's concerns to its government, but as of the end of July, the problematic posts remain online.

As early as September 2025, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security released a video targeting illegal immigration, which directly used footage from Pokémon and featured the slogan 'Catch them all,' turning photos of undocumented immigrants into Pokémon-style trading cards.

In March this year, after the U.S. took military action against Iran, the White House account combined footage of the military operation with clips from Yu-Gi-Oh! and other anime, captioning the post with 'American Justice.' The official Yu-Gi-Oh! account subsequently issued a statement clarifying that it had never authorized the use of its content.

In June, Trump posted an AI-generated video showing himself portrayed as the protagonist of Naruto, prompting the Japanese government to lodge another protest with the U.S.

The White House's series of posts has sparked strong backlash among Japanese anime fans. Over 23,000 people have signed an online petition calling for action against the copyright violations. Japanese government sources expressed concern, noting that the U.S. has long emphasized intellectual property protection, yet appears to disregard these principles in its own policy communications.