If you ask Japanese people if they know what a meme is, they will probably look at you saying “what?”. In other words, memes, like we know them, aren’t a thing in Japan. But this might be changing as Japanese people are turning to memes during the coronavirus outbreak.
Two Masks Per Houshold Memes
On April First, Japan’s prime minister Shinzo Abe announced that the Japanese government would give two masks each to 50 million households to fight the coronavirus. When I first read the headline I thought it was an April fools joke because it just sounds ridiculous…
And it gets even more ridiculous when you see what those masks look like:
After the news was published, Japanese people immediately started making memes out of it.
一世帯に二枚のマスク #贋作 #○○風に時事ネタを振り返ろう pic.twitter.com/43j8zUizyK
— 北村ヂン (@punxjk) April 1, 2020
This illustration shows an iconic seven-member family from a popular Japanese TV-show struggling to share the two masks they received form the Japanese government.
The following two images are taken from famous Ghibli movies and should portray parents refusing to give their mask to their child.
政府発表
— ろんげーin Da ワインラウンジLonge【公式】 (@Longe0829) April 1, 2020
1世帯につきマスク２枚配布へ#マスク2枚 pic.twitter.com/0eVrjGiw2c
「雫、2枚だから」 pic.twitter.com/e0tLskUR8p
— ⛩️失敗即位⛩️ (@sokuishippai) April 1, 2020
And the last meme about Japan’s two mask announcement shows Japan’s prime minister wearing two of his small masks, covering his entire face.
【速報】
— 令和速報 (@Reiwa_Sokuhou) April 1, 2020
全世帯に布マスク二枚配布へ pic.twitter.com/YwlYlfGzao
Related: Why do the Japanese wear masks?
Japanese "Mitsu Desu" Meme
If you’ve ever been in Tokyo and wanted to hop on a train, chances are you couldn’t get in because it was full. That’s why the Japanese and especially the Tokyo government wanted to reduce the amount of people gathering in public places.
Tokyo’s mayor Yuriko Koike said to reporters wanting to interview her the phrase “mitsu desu” which means as much as “Dense!” or “Too Close!”
This alone got turned into a meme and people started saying “mitsu desu” when they saw too many people in one place.
But it only really took off after someone on youtube created a song using some of her phrases.
小池百合子が押し寄せてきた大量の報道陣に「密！」と言いながら距離を取る動画は見つからなかったのですが、友近のネタっぽい感じの小池百合子は見つかりました pic.twitter.com/XaxohC8ofu
— nzɐʞnzɐʞ (@jeveuxfumer) April 10, 2020
Tokyo governor saying “social distance”.
【速報】#新型コロナウイルス の緊急事態宣言をめぐり、#西村経済再生相 と会談した #小池都知事 が取材に応じました。 pic.twitter.com/UDmtR0Bo6v
— TBS NEWS (@tbs_news) April 9, 2020
Tokyo governor saying “mitsu desu” to reporters.
The Mitsu Desu Meme
Here are some examples of the mitsu desu meme:
Mitsu Desu Inspires Japanese Video Game
The phrase “mitsu desu” even inspired some video games:
昨日作り始めた「密ですゲーム」が出来た。。都知事になって密集団を探して解散させるゲームです... #密ですゲーム #StayHome #Unity #socialdistancing pic.twitter.com/fEFfed9sTz
— もうせ (@motulo) April 20, 2020
Take the Coronavirus Serious!
This post is just about Japanese coronavirus memes and shouldn’t be used as any source of information regarding the disease or the pandemic in general.
Wash your hands! Stay at home! Keep your distance! Follow the advice from the WHO and your local government!
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