Pokemon Company Cancels Event at Controversial Shrine

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The Pokémon Company has canceled a planned Pokémon event and issued an apology. The event, which was to be held at Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine – a location known for controversy – centered around the popular Pokémon trading card game.

The Pokémon Trading Card Game is very popular, and events have always been a great way for players to connect. While The Pokémon Company hosts official events regularly, anyone with official Pokémon Play credentials can also organize local events at places like card shops. These events can be anything from a celebration of a new card set release to a competitive tournament. Now that the new Ascended Heroes expansion is out, players will have plenty of chances to participate in events and trade cards with each other.

Pokemon Apologizes for TCG Event Incident

The popular Pokemon Trading Card Game has a dedicated collector base, but a planned event in Japan has been cancelled. On January 30th, The Pokemon Company apologized for announcing a gathering at the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, stating they hadn’t properly vetted the location before publishing the information. They acknowledged the event listing appeared on their website – which allows certified Pokemon Card Game hosts to post events – and expressed regret for the resulting negative reactions and opinions.

Image via The Pokemon Company

After cancelling a planned event related to Yasukuni Shrine, TPC announced it will improve its review process for future events to avoid similar issues. Yasukuni Shrine, located in Tokyo near the Imperial Palace, is a historical Shinto shrine that honors those who died in wars between 1869 and 1954. The shrine maintains a registry, known as the Book of Souls, listing the names and backgrounds of those commemorated. This includes soldiers who fought for Japan in conflicts like the First and Second Sino-Japanese Wars and World War II. While the shrine lists over 2.4 million people, it also includes 1,066 individuals identified as convicted war criminals from World War II who served Imperial Japan.

Yasukuni Shrine is a source of ongoing controversy in Japan and internationally due to its history and the many politicians who have visited. When The Pokémon Company announced a trading card game event there, it sparked strong criticism in China. The company quickly canceled the event following this reaction. This disagreement comes at a time when relations between China and Japan are already strained, particularly over the issue of Taiwan, despite past cooperation on matters like fighting piracy.

Pokemon’s Plans for 2026 Remain Unchanged

Image via The Pokemon Company

As a huge Pokémon fan, I was really happy to hear from TPC that they’re planning to hold future events in more fan-friendly locations around the globe – it sounds like they’re really listening to us! And get this – 2026 is the 30th anniversary, so there’s a lot to look forward to! They’ve already announced two new games coming out this year: Pokémon Pokopia and Pokémon Champions. I can’t wait to learn more about everything they have planned!

Everyone is looking forward to February 27th, which is Pokémon Day. We usually see a Pokémon Presents presentation on this day, and it’s likely to happen again this year. As excitement builds about the next generation of Pokémon games, fans around the world are eager to see what surprises The Pokémon Company has planned.

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2026-02-04 03:06