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How to complain politely: Lessons from the McDonald’s Pokemon debacle

A boy looks at samples of Pokemon toys available with the McDonald's Happy Meal set in Tokyo earlier this month.

A boy looks at samples of Pokemon toys available with the McDonald's Happy Meal set in Tokyo earlier this month. | BLOOMBERG

By Yuko Tamura
Contributing writer

Aug 28, 2025

Earlier this month, McDonald’s Japan sparked controversy when it failed to control 買い占め (kaishime, excessive bulk purchases) by 転売ヤー (迟别苍产补颈测ā, resellers/scalpers) after offering rare Pokemon trading cards with its ハッピーセット (happī setto, Happy Meals).

The result was a lot of upset children and a ton of discarded food.

The Japanese word for scalper, 転売ヤー, is a combination of the word 転売屋 (tenbaiya, reseller) with the “-er” of “buyer” added to stretch out the “a” sound at the end.

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