Why a McDonald's Pokémon collab has caused complaints in Japan

McDonald's in Japan has apologised after a campaign giving away limited-edition Pokémon cards caused problems across the country.

The promotion led to long queues and bulk-buying, with some customers dumping piles of food in order to get hold of the popular cards.

The Japanese government has told the fast-food giant that it must now review future sales promotions and toy giveaways.

McDonald's has announced that its upcoming collaboration with the popular pirate-themed manga title, One Piece, will be postponed.

Pokemon and McDonald's: What happened?

Earlier this month, McDonald's gave away limited-edition Pokémon cards with its Happy Meals, called Happy Sets, in Japan.

Many people flocked to the fast food outlets to try and get their hands on the cards.

The giveaway was planned to last for three days, but many restaurants ran out of cards on the first day.

However, there were concerns that the campaign that led to large-scale food waste.

Complaints were made that people were buying meals just to get the Pokémon cards and then throwing away their food - so they could sell the cards to make money online.

In response, the Japanese government told the fast-food giant that it needed to review its sales strategies and future promotions.

In a statement, McDonald's admitted that there were some instances of "resale-driven mass purchases by customers" that led to "food being thrown away or discarded".

It added that it was looking to "introduce a stricter cap" on future Happy Set meal purchases.

McDonald's Japan has also announced that it has postponed its next promotion based on the popular manga series, One Piece.