I’ve long been a proponent of buying Japanese Pokémon cards over their English versions. Not only do you get cards sooner, with many Pokémon sets releasing a few months early in Japan, but in my experience the print quality seems better, not to mention the guaranteed pulls in booster boxes. However, it seems like it’s about to get harder to buy them now, with The Pokémon Company introducing new limits that will greatly affect overseas buyers.
Unless you’ve been living under a Geodude for the past year and a half, you’ll probably be aware of the recent wave of Pokémania. Any collectors who have spent more than two years in the Pokémon TCG will be no stranger to the recent hype, and somehow it feels like the excitement is still building, even now.
Recent sets have been smaller, seemingly to compensate for the extremely high demand, and The Pokémon Company is rumored to be opening a new printing campus to keep up supply. It seems the company behind our favorite TCG is keen to get products into the hands of collectors, and while the efforts aren’t going unnoticed, they’re not exactly stopping scalpers or those looking to make a quick buck.
So, with extreme times come extreme measures, and the Japanese branch of The Pokémon Company is requiring government ID to enter lotteries or buy certain products from the Pokémon Center. According to a recent press release on the official website, it is introducing an identity verification system using ‘My Number Cards’ (Japan’s national identification cards). Effectively, this will limit certain products to Japanese residents.
The new method of purchasing apparently won’t store personal data. Instead, TPC will use an external service that scans your card with a smartphone’s NFC technology. This will then be linked to your Player’s Club account for future reference, allowing you to not only take part in Pokémon Center lotteries for high-demand products but also to join events that the company is hosting. Of course, lacking a government-issued ID card, most of us won’t be able to enter at all.
These measures aren’t in place just yet, but the company plans to introduce the new system in August 2026. While the exact date hasn’t been confirmed date, this suggests the new requirement will arrive before the upcoming Pokémon 30th Anniversary set. Hopefully, I don’t need to explain why that’s a big deal.
While I’m sad it’ll be harder for collectors like me to get Japanese sets, in reality, this is a truly positive change – one I hope comes to the West. Allowing the citizens of Japan to get packs without having to fight against an entire globe of other buyers is a decision that isn’t just good, but essential. The system should also stop people from making multiple orders – all good things.
Do you feel the same as me? Or does this change mostly frustrate you? Let us know in our official Wargamer Discord, and make sure to share your favorite Japanese pulls. I recently got the Gardevoir Mega Attack card from Japan’s Mega Dream ex a few months back, and its one of the best additions to my binder.
Source: Wargamer
