Pokémon Wants Your Face Before You Can Buy Trading Cards

Fans hoping to buy Pokémon trading cards at certain official stores in Japan will soon have to do more than wait in line — they may also have to submit to facial recognition.^[1]

The Pokémon Company announced that customers visiting its official Pokémon Card Store locations must consent to facial recognition before receiving an entry ticket at five pop-up locations in Japan.

“To provide a safe and secure shopping environment for all customers, to prevent crime, and to ensure compliance with appropriate entry and purchase rules, the Pokémon Card Store will use a facial recognition system to verify entry and receipt of numbered tickets for customers of elementary school age and above,” the notice posted on July 24 read.

They added that preschoolers “are not eligible” for facial recognition, but said they need to be accompanied by a parent or guardian who will be.

The company says the system is designed to enforce one-entry-per-day and purchase limits intended to discourage scalpers from buying up high-demand products.

Customers who decline facial recognition won't be able to receive an entry ticket or enter participating stores, according to the company's policy.

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Pokémon says the system is designed to enforce purchase limits

The facial recognition requirement applies to five Pokémon Card Store locations, which are separate from the company's larger Pokémon Center retail stores.

Customers who consent to facial recognition will receive a numbered admission ticket. The system will verify that each customer receives only one ticket per day before allowing entry. If it detects that the same person has already entered or received a ticket that day, store staff will refuse entry.

The Pokémon Company said the measures are intended to prevent scalpers from bypassing existing entry and purchase restrictions.

“With the introduction of facial recognition, we will obtain the 'number of store visits' and 'facial image data' of eligible customers,” they wrote. “Entry and purchase restrictions will be determined based on the results of the decisions made by this system.”

At the time of writing, the company has not announced plans to expand the facial recognition system to Pokémon Center stores.

Another identity verification initiative

The facial recognition announcement comes just months after The Pokémon Company said it was preparing to introduce identity verification using Japan's My Number cards for certain Pokémon Trading Card Game services.

Under that separate initiative, the company plans to use an external service to authenticate Players Club accounts by reading the IC chip embedded in a customer's My Number card with a smartphone.

The planned system would apply to some Pokémon Center Online lottery sales and certain official tournaments in Japan starting in August.

The Pokémon Company said the authentication process will use the card's electronic certificates and that it "will not acquire or store" a customer's My Number, Japan's national identification number. It works similarly to a Social Security number.

Japan's Digital Agency, a part of the Japanese government, likewise explained that private-sector services can use the authentication functions of My Number cards for identity verification without necessarily obtaining or storing the underlying identification number itself.

While the My Number authentication program is separate from the new facial recognition system, both initiatives represent new identity verification measures for certain Pokémon Trading Card Game purchases and events in Japan.

Privacy experts say consumers should understand how biometric data is used

Facial recognition systems use software to analyze a person's facial features and compare them against stored biometric data to verify or identify an individual.

In retail settings, the technology can be used for a range of purposes, including controlling access to stores, enforcing purchase limits, and helping detect suspected fraud or repeat visitors. It is also extremely valuable to hackers.

Because facial images are considered biometric information, regulators generally encourage organizations to be transparent about how that data is collected, used, stored, and eventually deleted. In guidance for businesses, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has said companies should accurately disclose their data practices, obtain consumers' affirmative consent in certain circumstances involving facial recognition, and maintain security measures appropriate for the sensitivity of the information they collect.

In Pokémon's case, the company says it will collect facial image data and customers' visit counts to enforce entry restrictions, store the information securely for a limited period, and handle it in accordance with its privacy policy.

The announcement does not specify how long the data will be retained or provide additional technical details about how the facial recognition system operates.

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Author Details

Thomas Kent

About the Author

Thomas Kent is a multi-disciplined reporter with over a decade of experience covering online platforms, digital trends, and consumer-facing tech. Tom focuses on digital privacy, data tracking, and user behavior, with a particular interest in how cookies, online surveillance, and platform design shape the modern internet experience. His reporting takes a research-driven, news-focused approach, translating complex technical topics into clear, accessible insights.