A wave of public anger is building across Japan over former U.S. President Donald Trump’s unauthorized reuse of beloved Japanese anime and manga characters for political content on his personal social platform Truth Social. The most recent flashpoint came over the weekend, when Trump posted a manipulated video that positioned himself as Naruto Uzumaki, the central hero of the globally hit *Naruto* franchise centered on a young ninja’s quest to grow into a respected community leader. This latest post has reignited a controversy that first bubbled to the surface back in March, when sharp-eyed anime fans began spotting the 45th U.S. president inserting iconic characters including Pikachu, Naruto, and Yugi Mutou from *Yu-Gi-Oh!* into his political social media content.
By this week, nearly 20,000 people have added their signatures to an online petition launched back in March demanding that Trump and the White House respect the intellectual property and original creative intent of Japanese manga works. Petition organizers argue that Trump’s repurposing of these characters runs counter to the core values that the beloved franchises have promoted for decades, and that the unlicensed political use may violate the intellectual property rights held by the original creators and rights holders.
The first controversies that sparked the petition emerged in March, when the official White House X account released two high-profile posts that drew fierce criticism. One post paired footage of U.S. military strikes against Iran with edited clips pulled from the *Yu-Gi-Oh!* and *Dragon Ball* anime franchises. The day before that post, the account shared a graphic of Trump’s iconic campaign slogan “Make America Great Again” superimposed over a screenshot taken from the Pokémon franchise’s *Pokopia* video game.
Beyond the widespread backlash, a small contingent of Japanese anime fans have expressed a more mixed perspective on Trump’s use of the content. Some online commenters found the edited Naruto video humorous, arguing that the high-profile political use would only boost the global visibility of the franchise, framing it as unparalleled free publicity. Other fans shared that they viewed Trump’s engagement with the anime as a point of pride, a sign that Japanese pop culture has gained such global influence that even a sitting U.S. president recognizes one of its most iconic characters.
The Pokémon Company International has already issued an official condemnation of the unlicensed use of its intellectual property by Trump and White House accounts. Spokesperson Sravanthi Dev confirmed that the organization never granted permission for the imagery to be used, noting that “we were not involved in its creation or distribution. Our mission is to bring the world together, and that mission is not affiliated with any political viewpoint or agenda.” The BBC has reached out to other anime rights holders for comment on the controversy, as well as to the White House for a response from Trump’s team, and has not yet received additional public statements as of reporting.