President Donald Trump’s use of Japanese anime-style imagery on his social media account has not gone over well in Japan.
The Japanese government on Friday criticized Trump’s use of Japanese companies’ intellectual property, with a top minister warning that the practice could damage the integrity of Japan’s creative exports. She said that Japan had conveyed this position to the United States.
Trump posted an apparently artificial intelligence-generated video on his digital platform Truth Social last Saturday that included a short segment depicting himself dressed as the protagonist from the popular anime franchise “Naruto,” clasping his hands together with index fingers pointing up. The video drew backlash online from angry fans who said the imagery had been used without permission.