The US Government Keeps Making Memes With Pokemon and Naruto, and Japan Wants It to Stop
by Jerome London · Thought CatalogUpdated 3 minutes ago, August 11, 2026
Japan has repeatedly urged US officials to stop repurposing its most famous fictional characters into government social media content — and the companies that own those characters aren’t happy about it either.
Japan has asked the US government three times to stop turning Pokemon, Mario, and Naruto into official social media memes. Nobody gave permission, and the companies behind the characters keep saying they want nothing to do with it.
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