Japan moves to regulate booming Pokémon card market amid fraud and money-laundering worries
Tokyo officials have formed a task force to consider rules for Pokémon and other trading cards as soaring prices spark concerns over scalping, fakes and illicit money flows.
The Japanese government has set up a parliamentary task force to study how to oversee the trading-card industry, including Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! cards, after prices have surged dramatically. Retailer Watanabe Sho of Hareruya2 described a first-edition Pikachu card fetching about 10 million yen, while newer sets already command prices of $200 per box. High-profile sales such as Logan Paul's $22.6 million Pikachu Illustrator have turned cards into a speculative asset class, prompting lawyer Fukui Kensaku to highlight risks of reckless investing, counterfeiting and theft.
The task force, chaired by Kihara Seiji, will explore authentication technologies and anti-scalping measures but aims to avoid regulations that could cripple the market. Industry players hope that measures like the Pokémon Company’s lottery system for limited releases will keep cards accessible to ordinary collectors.
Why it matters
Regulating the fast-growing card market could curb fraud and protect consumers while preserving a major niche industry.
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