There's Joe Biden. And then there is Jo Baiden.
Democratic nominee Joe Biden's victory in the US presidential elections 2020 has turned the mayor of a Japanese city into an overnight sensation. Yutaka Umeda, the 73-year-old mayor of Yamato in Japan, became popular overnight when it was observed that his name, when written in kanji characters, may also phonetically be pronounced as Jo Baiden, which is eerily similar to how you pronounce US President-elect's name.
In fact, Umeda had no idea that there was a connection between their names until his family members informed him that he was trending on social media.
Kanji characters are often read phonetically differently. According to Japan Times, Umeda's family name, while usually pronounced "ume" and "da", they can also be read differently and pronounced "bai" and "den." The character used to denote Yutaka, is more commonly read as "jo."
"I feel very close to him. It feels as though I've also won the election," said Umeda, according to reports.
Umeda also said that he has been flooded with messages since Joe Biden was declared the winner this weekend following a prolonged phase of vote counting after polls closed on November 3. Umeda also feels that this may be beneficial for the small town of 15,000 inhabitants he is the Mayor of.
Meanwhile in the US, current President of the United States Donald Trump has refused to concede after Joe Biden became the President-elect. As reported by Daily Mail, sources close to the White House have said that Trump will refuse to attend the Inauguration day on January 20, 2021. Trump claims that the US election was stolen, however, the claims are unsubstantiated. It is said that he considers Biden as a ‘phoney President.’ According to a source in the Republican party, Trump has not prepared a concession speech and does not have the intention to recognise Biden’s presidency.