Pokémon in Japan

The Pokémon (Japanese: , officially abbreviated as ) franchise originated in in 1996 with the release of Pokémon Red and Green Versions. Most Pokémon media is created and distributed in Japan and then localized and further distributed in other countries of the world.
==Pokémon video games==
Most Pokémon games are released in Japan prior to being released elsewhere, although many games are never translated out of Japanese, including games for Nintendo consoles and Japan-only consoles. Most games produced by The Pokémon Company International are not translated into Japanese, such as Camp Pokémon. Japanese-language games are exported to East Asia and Southeast Asia. Event Pokémon are released regularly at various events and at stores in Japan as well. From Pokémon X and Y onwards, core series games have released in most other regions simultaneously with Japan.
Most Pokémon arcade games are released exclusively in Japanese arcades, rarely receiving a release in North America or Europe. Conversely, Pokémon Puzzle League was never released in Japan, and several early computer games were never released in Japan either. These include Pokémon Masters Arena, Pokémon Team Turbo, Pokémon Play It!, Pokémon Play It! Version 2, Pokémon Team Rocket Blast Off, Pokémon Poké Ball Launcher, and Pokémon Seek & Find.
While English voice acting in Pokémon-related video games is typically done in the , there are some instances of it being done in Japan. These include Pokkén Tournament's English dub as well as all the announcer lines in Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee, including the Pokémon-related ones.
==Pokémon animation==
The Pokémon animated series debuted on April 1, 1997 on TV Tokyo with the debut of Pokémon - I Choose You!. Prior to the Porygon incident, new episodes were aired every Tuesday evening at 7 PM. From 1998 to 2016, new episodes aired almost every Thursday evening at 7 PM. Since 2016, new episodes have aired starting at 6:55 PM. All dubs of the Pokémon animated series are based on the original Japanese series, as episodes generally air in Japan months in advance of the first international showings.
The Pokémon movies are regularly released theatrically by Toho each July in Japan, being one of the few remaining countries where this is the case.
===TV Tokyo===
TV Tokyo has aired new episodes of the Pokémon animated series on Thursday evenings since 1998. On Sundays, a Pokémon variety show has aired on TV Tokyo—these include the Weekly Pokémon Broadcasting Station, Pokémon Sunday, and Pokémon Smash!. Oha Suta, a kids show that also airs on TV Tokyo, occasionally airs Pokémon-related news and content.
===Kids Station===
Kids Station airs reruns of Pokémon episodes including those from earlier series.
===Other video streaming===
As of April 2020, the latest episode of Pokémon Journeys: The Series can be streamed for free for a week starting at 12:00 noon the Monday after broadcast on the official Pokémon, TV Tokyo, and the CoroCoro YouTube channels, Niconico, , , and Net mo TeleTo. Earlier episodes are available on Prime Video, Hulu, anitele, , , and Niconico via paid subscriptions.
Episodes from past series of the Pokémon animated series are available on Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, and Hikari-TV. The Pokémon animated series was first made available on Hulu on August 1, 2012.
During Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon, new episodes were made available for a limited time immediately after the initial broadcast on Hulu and . On Prime Video, new episodes were made available indefinitely several days after the initial broadcast.
==Pokémon manga==
Most Pokémon manga is serialized in CoroCoro, and is published by Shogakukan. Many manga are published exclusively in Japan, and are not localized for other countries.
==Pokémon Trading Card Game==
The Pokémon Trading Card Game was originally published in Japan by Media Factory with the release of in 1996, and continues to this day. Some cards are sold or distributed exclusively in Japan, and are not localized into other languages.
==Pokémon merchandise==
Pokémon merchandising has been handled by Takara Tomy. Many pieces of Pokémon merchandise are exclusive to Japan and are not sold at retail internationally.
Japan is currently home to all eleven, full-fledged, permanent stores, operating throughout Japan. Nine Pokémon Stores are also located in Japan.
==Community==
Pokémon Wiki is the Japanese-language member of Encyclopædiæ Pokémonis. pokepale!, Pokeani, and Pokésho were popular Japanese Pokémon fan sites.
Pokémon is considered the most popular in Japan, putting it ahead of the United States.https://gamerant.com/most-popular-pokemon-by-state-survey
== Events==
Many promotional events have been held in Japan for Pokémon video games and other media. These events included playable game demos, distribution of event Pokémon, and other incentives such as promotional cards from the .
Pokémon Festa was held annually from 2002 to 2008.
Japan is one of two countries to have hosted the , an amusement park dedicated to Pokémon which was open in 2005.
==External links==
*The official Japanese Pokémon website
**YouTube
**Twitter
**Facebook
**Instagram
**LINE
== References ==
==Related articles==
*List of Japanese Pokémon names
*List of Japanese opening themes
*List of Japanese ending themes