Flouting the Rules Abroad: A Marathon Bike Cheat and a Pokémon Look-Alike

Why This Topic Landed in Japan

Both items slotted easily into an existing view of "profit-first, rules-last" behavior, and in Japan they were talked about together under that single frame. In the first, a Chinese fitness influencer with a large following on the SNS platform RED (Xiaohongshu) was found to have used a bicycle during the Berlin Marathon on September 27; she later issued an apology, writing that it "violated the competition rules, with no room for excuses" and that she was "deeply ashamed." Because an influencer with a big following was the one cheating, many read it as a stunt for attention. In the second, a Chinese RPG titled "Loco Kingdom" launched in Japan with visuals that strongly resemble Nintendo's Pokémon, and clips spread widely; the discussion quickly pulled in Palworld's earlier dispute with Nintendo and the rise of AI-churned games. The marathon's talk of "disqualification" rests on the influencer's own admission and apology rather than a stated ruling from the organizers, and for the game, the visual resemblance alone does not settle who made it or whether any rights were infringed; the broader "Chinese companies treat IP lightly" line is a framing in the discussion rather than a demonstrated fact.

Key Reaction Themes

• Exasperation and cold amusement — The most common reaction: the marathon read as "a stunt for clout," and the game as "the same old copycat habit."
• Caution about the "rip-off" label, and self-reflection — A sizable strand pushed back: nobody says which law is actually broken, a shared genre isn't theft, and Japan itself learned from Western games.
• Blanket hostility toward China — A large share of both threads leaned on slurs and sweeping generalizations about Chinese people rather than engaging the specific cases.

What Japanese Netizens Are Saying

A Chinese game that closely resembles Pokémon

An RPG from China with Pokémon-like visuals launched in Japan, sparking both "rip-off" criticism and a debate over where imitation ends.

Comments:

• "Lately it's all apps like that — a hellscape of everyone ripping each other off."
• "We rip off Western games ourselves, after all."
• "Everyone yells 'rip-off,' but nobody says which law it actually violates or whether you'd win in court. Too many baseless gut feelings — it's not even funny. That's exactly why they're about to lose to Palworld."
• "It shouldn't be settled yet. They just fired off a feelings-based filing to the patent office and got brushed aside. They can still technically appeal, so they haven't lost — not in spirit, anyway. Whether they can actually win is pretty doubtful."
• "I think it's fine, honestly. If you banned this as a rip-off, there'd be no Dragon Quest or Minecraft either. Sharing a genre isn't the kind of copying that deserves blame."
• "If it's fun, that's justice enough. Palworld earned its place that way too."
• "Another AI-made rip-off game, huh."
• "Rip-off-mon, gotcha! The sheer shameless lawlessness is really something……"

A bicycle at the Berlin Marathon, and an apology

An influencer was found to have cut the course on a bike, drawing cold amusement about "an influencer chasing a viral moment."

Sources: Record China

Comments:

• "She's an influencer, so obviously she's doing it to make the news."
• "The funny part is she wasn't even pedaling herself."
• "Winner takes all — in a way, that's extremely pragmatic thinking. Naively believing that doing the right thing gets rewarded is how you get your legs cut out from under you."
• "She's backed by a shoe brand so she can't drop out mid-race — so, hey, let's use a bike! Is that the idea?"
• "What made her think she could get away with it? Or does she just not register it as a violation or a wrong?"
• "Japan's 24-hour charity marathon straight-up uses a car, though."
• "A real influencer — never lets you down on the trashiness."
• "'Maybe if I use a bike I could win?' — actually going through with the stupid thing everyone fantasizes about once, lol. What an idiot."
• "She went to the trouble of bringing a bike to cheat, and now she's going on about feeling unwell — oh, shut it."