Japan's Foreign Minister Calls Out White House for Using Wii Sports in Pro-War Post

Japan isn't staying quiet anymore.

On April 17, Toshimitsu Motegi, Japan's Minister for Foreign Affairs, stood up in a lower house parliamentary session and called out the White House directly over its use of Nintendo's Wii Sports footage in a pro-war social media post. Speaking in Japanese, Motegi said "Generally speaking, it's inappropriate even for public institutions to reproduce copyrighted materials without the rightsholders' consent," as reported by Kyodo News.

That post, uploaded to the official White House X account back in March, spliced Wii Sports gameplay footage and its instantly recognisable theme music with unclassified military strike footage from Operation Epic Fury, the U.S. airstrikes on Iran. The mash-up racked up tens of millions of views. Nintendo has not issued an official statement.

This isn't a one-off. It's become a habit.

A Pattern of Unauthorised Use

The White House social media team has been reaching for gaming IPs repeatedly, and the list is getting long. In September 2025, the Department of Homeland Security posted ICE raid footage set to the Pokémon anime theme song, leaning into the franchise's "Gotta catch 'em all" tagline. Then in March 2026, the White House X account jumped on the Pokémon Pokopia cover art trend, posting a version of the meme with "Make America Great Again" replacing the game's title. The Pokémon Company responded to both, making clear that neither post had the company's permission or involvement. "Our mission is to bring the world together, and that mission is not affiliated with any political viewpoint or agenda," a spokesperson said.

On April 1, the same White House account posted a mashup of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie and NASA footage to mark the Artemis II mission. Again, no permission granted. Yu-Gi-Oh's official account and Master Chief voice actor Steve Downes have also publicly pushed back against the White House for using their respective IPs or likenesses without consent.

Asked about the administration's approach, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson has been unapologetic. "Through engaging posts and banger memes, we are successfully communicating the president's extremely popular agenda," Jackson told The New York Times. "There's a reason so many people try to copy our style — our message resonates."

Nintendo Is Already in a Legal Fight With the U.S. Government

The timing here is worth noting. Nintendo hasn't said a word about the Wii Sports footage, and it's not hard to see why things are complicated. The company is currently suing the U.S. government over Trump's tariffs, seeking a refund with interest for duties it paid after the Supreme Court ruled the tariffs unlawfully imposed. Those tariffs forced Nintendo to delay Switch 2 pre-orders in the U.S. and raised prices on accessories. Picking a second legal fight at the same time over IP would be a bold move.

Meanwhile, Motegi is doing more than just raising eyebrows in parliament. As reported by The Japan Times, he's actively working to de-escalate the U.S.-Iran conflict and restore stability in the Strait of Hormuz. Using Wii Sports to glamourise the very strikes his ministry is trying to contain diplomatically? Not exactly a great look.

Nintendo's IP enforcement record is legendary. Whether that extends to the Oval Office's X account is a different question entirely.