Very poor reporting by Luke Plunkett.
![Screenshot of Bluesky post by Aftermath: Pokémon company apologises after advertising event at a...controversial war crimes shrine: [URL]](https://ninpatentswatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/bsky-post-pokemon-shrine-1.jpg)
The event was posted by a local TCG club in Sendai City, on the TCG community site to which any community organizers can post. And yet Plunkett wants you to believe that TPC was “advertising” it.
The online reactions in China were wide-ranging and varied1, but Plunkett cherry-picked the right-wing nationalist talking point and used it in the dek (subhead).
- With many pointing out that the loudest voices were “setting pace” (带节奏; rage baiting), often from reporters/streamers seldom covered TCG before. ↩︎
[Originally posted on 2026-02-02 Pacific Time]
