The website of Pokémon's official Japanese website shows a "404 Not Found" error.

Pokémon, a Japanese media franchise, is now mired in controversy on Chinese social media after netizens discovered that it plans to hold a card game event at the notorious Yasukuni Shrine. The move has invited criticism from Chinese netizens, with many saying that Japanese companies that profit from China while undermining China's interests shouldn't be tolerated.

According to a screenshot posted by Chinese netizens, on its official Japanese website, Pokémon said the card game event will be held at the Yasukuni Shrine on Saturday. However, when the Global Times checked the website, it showed a "404 Not Found" error.

Hashtag "Pokémon Yasukuni Shrine" has garnered 4.34 million reads on China's Sina Weibo as of press time. One user under the name of "HUA_ER_" wrote: "Does the company has any sense in holding such events at Yasukuni Shrine? Any act that ignores historical truth or glorifies militarism will be nailed to the pillar of shame and despised by the public." More than 2,600 users liked the post.

"As the world's largest anime IP, is Pokémon trying to alienate - or even lose - the Chinese market?" asked Zhiming Ming, another Sina Weibo user. 

"Making money from China while undermining China's interests. Such Japanese companies, utterly lacking a sense of historical responsibility, not only show no respect for history but even hold events at the 'shrine of war criminals.' This is something we must never tolerate," wrote Huanqiu Jingtou, a Sina Weibo user with more than 738,000 followers.

The Global Times was not able to reach Pokémon's China office as of press time. 

In 2019, many social media users in South Korea expressed their anger towards Creatures Inc, a Japanese developer affiliated with "Pokémon" video game franchise, after its employees allegedly revealed photos worshiping the Yasukuni Shrine, according to the Korea Herald.

Photos uploaded on X by the company showed its employees worshiping at the Yasukuni Shrine. The photos were captioned: "We are worshiping at the Yasukuni Shrine to celebrate the year's first day of work."

Following the Japanese firm's posting of the controversial tweet, many Koreans condemned the employees for their actions that could hurt the feelings of many Pokémon fans across the world, the Korea Herald reported. 

A Chinese Sina Weibo user also brought up this incident on Wednesday saying that "it is not so strange anymore."

The Yasukuni Shrine is a spiritual tool and symbol of Japanese militarists' war of aggression. The shrine honors 14 convicted Class-A war criminals responsible for Japan's aggression in the 1930s and 1940s. The year 2025 marked the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. The Japanese side should face squarely and deeply reflect on Japan's history of aggression, take concrete actions to show remorse for the crimes committed by Japanese militarists and respect to the victims, and not further compound the wrongdoing, Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson from China's ministry of foreign affairs, said on December 26.