Danica Davidson
April 17, 2025 
It’s still up in the air how the current administration’s tariffs will affect Nintendo’s Switch 2, and now Square Enix has halted some pre-orders over tariff concerns.
If you go to the Square Enix store, it now says on top: “New Merchandise Pre-Orders are on pause, Click for details.” If you click, it takes you to a note that say, “Effective April 9, 2025: In light of ongoing international tariff uncertainties, we have decided to temporarily pause some new merchandise pre-orders. We appreciate your understanding and support.”
This comes as Hong Kong announces that it will cease shipping parcels to the United States, likewise because of the tariffs. If you want to get a document from Hong Kong, that will go through the mail. But if you want to get something like an anime figurine . . . well, that’s a different story.
Because tariff rates and what items will have tariffs keeps changing, many companies around the world are not sure what to do.
Depending on how things end up going, it’s possible that Japan will be the country worst hit by America’s tariffs.
Today Japan’s Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato remarked, “The recent U.S. tariff measures affect various industries and heighten uncertainty. We’re deeply concerned they could affect Japan’s economy, as well as the global economy, through various routes such as trade and financial markets. . . There’s a risk of exerting downward pressure on Japan’s economy.”
Japan is actively trying to get the tariffs removed. President Trump put a 24% tariff rate on Japan (plus a separate 25% tariff rate on cars in general), then postponed the “reciprocal” tariffs.
Square Enix gave this description of itself:
Square Enix Summary
The Square Enix Group, with corporate offices and development studios in media entertainment centers around the globe – Japan, United States and Europe, is promoting businesses in the four domains of Digital Entertainment, Amusement, Publication and Merchandising.
Source: ANN
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
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