Why You Now Need a Face Scan To Buy Pokémon Cards in Japan
There are places where we expect to prove who we are. An airport. A passport checkpoint. A bank. A shop selling children’s trading cards is not usually one of them. But since July 24, anyone aged 6 or older entering one of Japan’s official Pokémon Card Stores has been required to undergo facial recognition before […] The post Why You Now Need a Face Scan To Buy Pokémon Cards in Japan appeared…
In July 2023, Japan introduced a facial recognition policy for purchasing Pokémon cards in select stores. Starting July 24, anyone aged 6 or older entering an official Pokémon Card Store must undergo facial recognition before entering, regardless of whether they plan to buy or just browse. The system checks if a customer has already entered the store or collected numbered tickets for popular releases, and if so, staff can refuse entry to prevent scalping.
Customers leaving temporarily must notify staff to avoid being mistaken for a second visit. The policy targets smaller stores dedicated solely to the trading card game, not larger Pokémon Centers. This move aims to prevent one person or small operation from buying up stock and reselling it at a markup, addressing concerns about scalping, counterfeiting, and potential money laundering in the secondary market.
While the company claims personal data will be deleted after a certain period, Japan's privacy law only requires businesses to attempt deletion once the data is no longer needed. The policy has garnered strong public support in Japan, with many fans arguing it's worth paying for to keep products on shelves and out of scalpers' hands.
Written by urgent.news from Tokyo Weekender's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
