Pokemon Company apologizes after advertising TCG event at shrine honoring war criminals

The Pokémon Company has apologized and called off an event that was planned for a shrine known for being controversial.

A Pokemon Trading Card Game event, run by an independent organizer, was listed on the official Pokemon website. The event was planned to be held at the Yasukuni Shrine.

Holding an event at a shrine is often considered disrespectful, but the real issue was actually the shrine itself.

The Yasukuni Shrine is a memorial dedicated to Japanese people who died in wars from 1869 to 1954. This includes soldiers who fought for Japan during World War II, and controversially, over 1,000 people who were later convicted of war crimes.

Due to its past, the shrine is still a very sensitive political site in the country. Visits by important people frequently cause controversy both domestically and internationally.

Pokemon company pulls event at controversial shrine

The event caused a lot of disagreement and criticism, including strong reactions in China, which led the Pokémon Company to issue an apology and explanation.

So, I was checking the Pokémon Trainers portal, and it looks like The Pokémon Company accidentally posted details about an event that wasn’t supposed to be live yet. They put a notice up on their website saying it was a mistake – pretty interesting!

The company stated that an event planned at Yasukuni Shrine was mistakenly listed on their event search page. They explained this happened because their internal review process wasn’t thorough enough, and the event should not have been approved.

We sincerely apologize for the reaction this post caused, and the wide range of opinions it generated.

The company stated they cancelled the event as soon as they realized the error. They also plan to improve how they check and confirm event details in the future to prevent similar problems.

We aim to fulfill our mission of bringing the world together through Pokémon by carefully managing the game so everyone can enjoy it safely and with peace of mind.

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2026-02-02 22:49