這場風波發生在2026年1月底，起因是日本寶可夢卡牌（PTCG）官方網站，在活動預約系統中將「靖國神社」標示為1月31日舉辦「兒童卡牌體驗教室」的場地之一。相關資訊曝光後，迅速在中國網路社群與媒體圈引發強烈反彈，爭議焦點很快從單一活動，升高為涉及歷史記憶與政治象徵的敏感事件。

事件最具爭議之處，在於該活動本身並非由寶可夢公司（The Pokémon Company）或任天堂直接主辦，而是由日本當地的私人卡牌店提出申請。然而，活動名稱與地點卻出現在官方網站的預約與公告系統中，這被大量中國網友解讀為「官方背書」與審核把關失職，甚至被指控是對歷史事實的公然挑釁。對許多中國輿論而言，靖國神社不只是一個宗教場所，而是日本軍國主義與侵略歷史的高度象徵，將兒童向的娛樂活動安排在此，被視為對青少年歷史認知的嚴重傷害。

隨著討論熱度升高，中國官媒迅速介入。《環球時報》發表評論直指此舉「觸碰歷史紅線」，而具有軍方背景的評論帳號「鈞正平」亦公開點名批評，認為在靖國神社舉辦面向兒童的活動，具有極其惡劣的社會影響。相關言論進一步推動事件升級，讓原本的卡牌活動爭議，轉變為跨國政治與輿論衝突。

面對壓力，寶可夢官方迅速展開危機處理。1月29日，相關活動頁面已緊急自官網下架，隨後寶可夢公司發布中日雙語致歉聲明，強調該活動場地的登錄屬於審核流程疏失，並表示已取消在靖國神社舉辦的相關活動，同時承諾未來將強化活動審核與管理機制，以避免類似情況再次發生。

值得注意的是，中國媒體也藉此回顧過去，指出這並非寶可夢品牌首次在「靖國神社」議題上引發爭議。早在2016年，《Pokémon GO》於日本上線時，靖國神社曾被設置為遊戲中的道館與補給站，當時不少中國玩家甚至透過GPS定位修改的方式「飛人」進入該地點佔領道館，以象徵性行動表達抗議。2019年，寶可夢重要股東之一的Creatures公司，亦曾因員工集體參拜靖國神社並在社群平台公開宣傳，而遭到中國網友與媒體猛烈抨擊。

在這樣的歷史背景下，2026年的卡牌活動事件被視為再次觸碰中日關係中高度敏感的歷史神經。對寶可夢公司而言，這不僅是一場單純的公關危機，更凸顯出全球化娛樂品牌在不同文化與歷史記憶之間，稍有疏忽就可能引爆的巨大風險。

The controversy erupted in late January 2026, after the official website of the Pokémon Trading Card Game (PTCG) in Japan listed Yasukuni Shrine as the venue for a “Children’s Card Game Experience Class” scheduled for January 31. Once the information surfaced, it quickly sparked intense backlash across Chinese online communities and media circles. What initially appeared to be a routine event listing soon escalated into a highly sensitive dispute involving historical memory and political symbolism.

At the heart of the controversy was the fact that the event itself was not directly organized by The Pokémon Company or Nintendo, but rather applied for by a private card shop in Japan. Nevertheless, because the event name and venue appeared within the official booking and announcement system on the Pokémon website, many Chinese netizens interpreted this as implicit “official endorsement.” The situation was widely criticized as a serious failure of internal review, and some commentators accused the company of openly disregarding historical truth. For much of the Chinese public, Yasukuni Shrine is not merely a religious site, but a powerful symbol of Japanese militarism and wartime aggression. Hosting a child-oriented entertainment activity at such a location was therefore seen as deeply inappropriate and harmful to young people’s understanding of history.

As online discussion intensified, Chinese state-affiliated media quickly became involved. Global Times published commentary directly accusing the incident of “crossing a historical red line,” while the military-background commentary account “Jun Zhengping” also issued sharp criticism, arguing that holding children’s activities at Yasukuni Shrine carries extremely negative social implications. These statements further amplified the issue, transforming what began as a card game event controversy into a broader cross-border political and public opinion clash.

Under mounting pressure, the Pokémon side moved swiftly to manage the crisis. On January 29, the relevant event page was urgently removed from the official website. Shortly afterward, The Pokémon Company released a bilingual Chinese- and Japanese-language apology statement, emphasizing that the venue listing was the result of insufficient review procedures. The company confirmed that the event at Yasukuni Shrine had been canceled and pledged to strengthen internal vetting and management processes to prevent similar incidents in the future.

Chinese media also revisited past incidents, noting that this was not the first time the Pokémon brand had “touched a sensitive nerve” related to Yasukuni Shrine. In 2016, when Pokémon GO launched in Japan, Yasukuni Shrine was designated as both a Gym and a PokéStop. At the time, some Chinese players protested symbolically by using GPS spoofing to “fly” to the location and take control of the Gym. In 2019, another controversy arose when employees of Creatures Inc.—one of Pokémon’s major shareholders—were reported to have collectively visited Yasukuni Shrine and shared the visit on social media, once again triggering widespread criticism from Chinese netizens and media outlets.

Against this historical backdrop, the 2026 PTCG event was widely viewed as yet another instance of crossing a highly sensitive line in Sino-Japanese relations. For The Pokémon Company, the incident went beyond a simple public relations misstep, highlighting the substantial risks that global entertainment brands face when navigating differing cultural contexts and deeply rooted historical memories—where even a small oversight can ignite a major international backlash.