A Pokémon themed event held recently at Yasukuni Shrine, Japan, has sparked criticism from Chinese media. The shrine, which honors Japan's war casualties including war criminals from WWII, is seen as controversial by countries that suffered under Japanese imperialism, such as China and South Korea. No direct response from the parents company of Pokémon has been received yet on the controversy.

Within Japan, the Yasukuni Shrine is understood as a memorial to those who lost their lives in service to the nation. However, the shrine has been the center of recurrent controversies due to its enshrinement of class-A war criminals from WWII. Events held at the shrine, particularly ones like this Pokémon event that attract international attention, tend to generate a heated discourse about Japan's past militarism and its current-day memory politics.

In the US or the EU, it would be akin to hosting a lighthearted event at a site associated with war controversies. Imagine the backlash of hosting a children's event at Auschwitz concentration camp or Confederate memorials in the United States, both carrying heavy historical connotations for many people.