Japanese mayor ‘Jo Baiden’ trends online after US presidential election

Another “Baiden” trended online following the recent United States presidential election.

Yutaka Umeda, mayor of Yamato town in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, became a trending topic after it was learned that the characters of his name could also be read as “Jo Baiden,” which sounded similar to the name of the US president-elect.

As explained by The Japan Times in a report on Monday, Kanji characters had several phonetic readings. Although the mayor’s family last name was pronounced “ume” and “da,” it could also be read as “bai” and “den,” while the character for Yutaka could be read as “jo.”

The report said Umeda received numerous messages after Joe Biden won the US presidential election.

“I feel very close to him. It feels as though I’ve also won the election after hearing about (Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s) projected win,” The Japan Times quoted Umeda as saying.

“Being the president of a superpower like the United States and a mayor of Yamato—the scale (of our jobs) is completely different, but I’d like to think of ways to promote the town,” he added.

With this newfound popularity, Umeda hoped that it would give Yamato, a small town of about 15,000, a chance to be in the spotlight.

In 2008, when Barack Obama was elected US president, the city of Obama in Fukui Prefecture also became a trending topic. – Kaela Malig/RC, GMA News