It's a good thing that's not what they're doing, then. The only differences between the original game and the localizations are the names of characters and locations, and even in the localizations, the names aren't analogous to any real-world locations, meaning there were no "images or icons" whose names could be supplanted by Japanese labels. And as far as characters go, typically, when a character belongs to a marginalized group who might actually be hurt by cultural appropriation, the name is often exactly the same (e.g. Hau and Hala), but even when they don't, the name is usually either very similar or draws upon similar etymological roots. It's not like TPC is out here attempting to trivialize or erase British culture which, by the way, is hardly marginalized.
Holy shit, like Ive said before, changing the label of a city clearly based on London doesnt just erase the fact its clearly based on London. Imagery exists with context even without the original name being on it. You wouldn't steal the imagery of shrine gates, nor temples, nor samurais. Because even without names, those are iconic symbols from a different culture.
Sword and Shield literally have stonehenge(and a pokemon based off it),
the city of london, south asian and ginger characters, and hell, most of the map lines up with UK countries.
Also, Leon counts as part of a marginalized group, as does Nessa, Olivia, and Kiawe.
Naming every character you can after your own culture when your series is KNOWN for having setting based on the real world paints a narrow picture of the world to kids playing it.
UK culture will recover from that huge blow don't worry
Japan isn't some smalltime niche society, they're literally one of the biggest proponents of media outside the US. They should be held to the same standards people hold for other developers and creators. This kind of blase attitude towards shitty practices is why these companies can get away with even worse shit. "It's just Japan lol"