Bandai is looking at a pretty strict new rule for its trading card game tournaments and events.
The company is considering making players verify their identity with Japan’s government-issued My Number Card before they can enter certain events. This could start as early as September and would cover big titles like One Piece, Dragon Ball, Naruto, Gundam, and Digimon under the BANDAI TCG+ service.
According to their announcement, the move is meant to create “equal opportunities” and let everyone use the services more safely and with peace of mind. The catch is that they’re specifically requiring the My Number Card — not a driver’s license, student ID, or other common forms of ID.
That creates a couple of problems. Foreign tourists can’t get a My Number Card, so they’d be locked out of these events. Even some Japanese residents who’ve avoided getting the card for privacy reasons would also be left out. Bandai is already telling people who don’t have one yet to go apply for it.
For a hobby that draws both locals and overseas fans, this feels like a pretty big shift. It remains to be seen how strictly it will be enforced or if they’ll soften the requirement later, but right now it’s looking like another layer of bureaucracy for competitive TCG players in Japan.
