McDonald’s Japan recently teamed up with the hugely popular Pokémon franchise to launch a limited-edition Happy Meal giveaway — the “Pokémon Card MEGA” set — and it’s causing a nationwide frenzy. The promotion began on August 9 and runs until August 11, with each Happy Meal including a special card pack featuring a guaranteed Pikachu card plus one of five other characters — Sprigatito, Fuecoco, Quaxly, Ralts, or Riolu — all in original artwork.
The launch quickly drew massive crowds of Pokémon fans and collectors, with long queues forming across Japan. But alongside the excitement came controversy. Social media users reported spotting scalpers buying large quantities of Happy Meals solely for the cards, discarding the untouched food on sidewalks or outside stores. Many of these cards have already appeared on second-hand auction platforms, and some are allegedly being resold in China for profit.
One viral video showed a suspected Chinese buyer purchasing 40 Happy Meals at once, ignoring the “five per customer” rule, while staff failed to intervene. A Japanese customer was seen confronting the individual directly.
Due to overwhelming demand, some McDonald’s outlets ran out of the Pokémon card packs on the first day, ending the giveaway early. Reports also surfaced of scalpers demanding refunds when they failed to receive the cards, sparking disputes that even required police intervention.
The backlash grew after Yuka Igari, a member of Japanese idol group Kamen Joshi, condemned the scalpers on social media platform X, calling their actions “selfish and malicious.” She criticised those hiding behind the excuse of “capitalism” to justify ignoring others’ rights, saying, “Doing it just for money is truly selfish.”
Many netizens echoed her sentiments, urging the public not to buy from scalpers so they “collapse naturally,” while others called for stricter purchase limits and better anti-scalping measures to ensure real Pokémon fans have a fair chance to get the cards.
