Japanese anime fans petition Trump to stop using Naruto, Dragon Ball and Yu-Gi-Oh! in political posts

A petition launched in Japan is calling on US President Donald Trump and the White House to stop using imagery from popular anime and manga series in official social media posts. The campaign, titled "Protect Japanese Manga" on Change.org, had gathered close to 22,000 signatures by Wednesday 10 June, after being revived earlier this week.

The Naruto video that reignited the campaign

The petition was originally created in March, but it gained fresh momentum after Trump posted a video on his Truth Social platform on Saturday. The clip, apparently generated with artificial intelligence, depicts the president as Naruto Uzumaki, the young ninja protagonist of the globally popular series "Naruto". The video also shows Trump dancing in the White House, riding a motorcycle, travelling on a camel, skydiving and posing at the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

I was very saddened that his noble spirit, the spirit of a man who tried to save others, and the message of his work were used in a military context. He is already dead and cannot defend himself.

Earlier White House posts that sparked the backlash

The initial trigger came in March, when the official White House account on X published material combining footage of US military strikes on Iran with clips from the anime series "Yu-Gi-Oh!" and "Dragon Ball". A day earlier, the same account had posted an image with the phrase "Make America Great Again" superimposed on what appeared to be a screenshot from the Pokémon Pokopia video game.

The original creators and anime staff were not involved in any way, and no permission was granted for the use of the intellectual property in question.

The petition organisers say they handed the document to several Japanese parliamentarians in March and that Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs subsequently contacted the US Embassy in Tokyo regarding the unauthorised use of the works.

Rights holders and fans respond

Pokémon Company International has stated that the White House did not have permission to use its imagery. A spokesperson for the publisher Shueisha said the copyright for the anime images used in Trump's posts belongs to the film production committee, and that, to their knowledge, the original "Naruto" creator Masashi Kishimoto had not commented on the matter.

For many years, these works have inspired audiences around the world by conveying values such as courage, friendship, and perseverance. Because of this, many fans feel concerned when images from these works appear to be used in political or military contexts that may differ from the intentions of the original creators or rights holders.

While the backlash has been broad, a small number of fans online have dismissed the controversy. One X user described the Naruto video as "hilarious" and suggested it would boost the series' international recognition, calling it the best free publicity in the world. Another said they were proud that Japanese manga had reached the point where the American president knows Naruto.

What the petition demands

The organisers describe themselves as fans who deeply value Japanese manga and anime. They express "very mixed feelings" about the US government's use of these works and say they plan to notify rights holders. The petition has been sent to Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Agency for Cultural Affairs.