It seems that the government of Japan is not happy with the US government's habit of using images from Japanese videogames in its political rhetoric, which has included racist, war-mongering social media posts. A Mainichi Shimbun report (Google translated, via IGN) says Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has "repeatedly expressed concerns" about the use of such images, both because it doesn't have permission to use them as well as the potential damage to globally recognized brands like Mario and Pokémon.
Various US government agencies began posting memes to promote various policies in 2025. In September, for instance, Homeland Security posted a montage of immigration raids and arrests interspersed with video clips and music from the Pokémon animated series; Customs and Border Patrol followed with a video of dancing Pikachu as "Border Patrols' newest recruit."
