In the past, U.S. President Trump and his administration have used Japanese anime materials for political purposes, involving popular animations such as "Dragon Ball," "Yu-Gi-Oh!" and "Pokémon." This has annoyed a large number of Japanese anime fans.
So far, over 20,000 people have signed a petition on the petition website Change.org, calling for the “protection of Japanese comics”.
According to Japanese media such as the 'Nihon Keizai Shimbun' on June 9th, recently, Trump appeared in a video generated by artificial intelligence (AI), portraying himself as Naruto, the protagonist of 'Fireworks Ninja Academy'. This further ignited the anger of anime fans.
According to reports, last Saturday, Trump shared a video on social media platforms titled “Everyone Loves Trump”.
This video has been heavily edited, featuring footage of Trump dining with the Mexican president and riding a lion. There is also a scene in the video where Trump transforms into Naruto, using the “reincarnation” technique.
Social Media
The meaning of this video is unclear, but Trump has frequently used Japanese anime for political propaganda, which has caused quite a bit of controversy.
Japanese media mentioned that there have been critical voices on Japanese social media.
Many people question Trump's unauthorized use of relevant materials. Some commented, "As a fan of Naruto, this really infuriates me. Please do not use these materials without permission." Others protested, saying, "Don't bring politics into the anime!"
As public opinion intensified, this incident attracted the attention of Western media outlets such as the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and AFP.
The BBC reported on June 10th that dissatisfaction towards Trump had been accumulating over the past few months.
In September last year, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security posted a video on social media, captioned with the words "Make sure to catch them all!" In the video, law enforcement officers arrested illegal immigrants, using the theme song and visuals from the Pokémon franchise. As a result, they also posted photos and names of the detained suspects on social media, in a style similar to Pokémon cards.
In March of this year, at the request of its fans, Pokémon Company issued a statement protesting the unauthorized use of Pokémon characters on social media by the Trump administration. The spokesperson also emphasized that the company’s mission “has nothing to do with any political views or agendas.”
In March of this year, anime fans noticed that Trump frequently used images of iconic Japanese anime characters. The White House official account also included a video that mixed clips from "Yu-Gi-Oh!" and "Dragon Ball" with footage of the US military bombing Iran.
Subsequently, Japanese manga fans launched a petition called "Protect Japanese Manga," calling on anime copyright holders and the Japanese authorities to take action against the Trump administration's series of violations. To date, over 20,000 people have signed the petition.
The BBC reported that a resident of Kanagawa Prefecture participated in this petition. The 34-year-old anime fan said she felt it was her duty to take action. “The author of ‘Game Boy’ unfortunately drowned while trying to save others. Now, his work is being used in the military field, which brings me deep sorrow. Unfortunately, he is no longer alive and cannot speak out for himself.”
But so far, the Japanese government has remained silent and has not taken any action to support anime fans.
