A sign inside a McDonald's restaurant in Tokyo alerts customers about the cancellation of "One Piece" game card promotion, Aug. 26, 2025. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)

TOKYO — McDonald’s Japan has canceled an upcoming “One Piece” game card promotion in the wake of a chaotic Pokémon campaign earlier this month that prompted government involvement.

The promotional tie-in with “One Piece,” a popular anime and manga series, was scheduled to begin Friday but was postponed indefinitely, McDonald’s Japan announced in an Aug. 20 press release. The restaurant chain did not detail the promotion and did not respond to a query by Tuesday for more information.

Instead of “One Piece” game cards, McDonald’s Japan planned to substitute “toys and other items that were given away in previous campaigns” to customers who purchase Happy Sets, as they’re known in Japan.

The decision follows a Pokémon promotion on Aug. 9 that triggered frenzied scenes at McDonald’s restaurants across Japan, where adult collectors and profiteers purchased meals for the cards alone and discarded the uneaten food.

Customers have lunch at a McDonald's restaurant in Roppongi Hills, Tokyo, Aug. 26, 2025. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)

"One Piece" game cards are displayed inside a shop in the Akihabara district of Tokyo, April 14, 2023. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)

Photos posted online show crowds of customers at McDonald’s counters and bags of Happy Sets piled up on walkways outside.

The backlash caught the attention of Japan’s Consumer Affairs Agency, which on Aug. 20 asked McDonald’s to revamp its Happy Set campaigns to reduce waste and prevent bulk buying, according to an agency official who deals with food loss.

“The Consumer Affairs Agency, which is working to combat food waste, expressed regret that food waste had occurred,” the official said by phone Tuesday. Some government officials in Japan are required to speak to the press on condition of anonymity.

McDonald’s Japan responded that it is considering stricter limits on sales and repeatedly standing in line for Happy Sets, the official said.

The three-day Pokémon promotion was canceled the first day and McDonald’s Japan publicly apologized, saying its preparations were “inadequate” and had compromised the chain’s goal of providing a fun dining experience for children and families.

McDonald’s said in an Aug. 11 statement that it would impose stricter sales restrictions on Happy Sets as well as restricting mobile phone and delivery orders.