Japan’s Pokémon TCG scalper problem pushes The Pokémon Company toward ID-based purchases
The plan would restrict multiple accounts and affect product lotteries, online sales, and tournaments
The problem with Pokémon Trading Card Game scalpers has reached such a point in Japan that The Pokémon Company is considering implementing a robust identity verification system for purchasing certain items.
This announcement, made by the company through its official website (via Automaton), states that it is considering a system that will use the My Number Card—the official ID issued by the Japanese government—to enable purchases starting in August 2026. This ID will be used to authenticate Players Club accounts before users attempt to log in to the lottery systems typically used to purchase items online.
Although there is a lottery system that is supposed to “provide all customers with fair and safe opportunities” to obtain products, some scalpers already have multiple accounts, which give them a better chance of securing products. The system that The Pokémon Company plans to implement aims to create a “User Authentication Electronic Certificate” so that each account is linked to a citizen of the country.
This system will apply to “priority product lotteries, sales of certain products on Pokémon Center Online, as well as participation in select official tournaments and events held in Japan.” The latter is because, during the most recent Championships in Yokohama held in September 2025, several participants used accounts that did not belong to them, or even altered their age to participate in other leagues.
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The date of August 2016 was chosen because it can take up to two months to process this ID in Japan. Although the My Number system is not mandatory in Japan, the Japanese government has been trying to make it more appealing. Could Pokémon be the catalyst for this change?
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