Yukio Edano, head of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, announces his intention to resign at a meeting of party executives, at the Second Members' Office Building of the House of Representatives, on Nov. 2, 2021. (Mainichi/Kan Takeuchi)

       TOKYO -- The hashtag "edanoyameruna" (Edano don't quit) began trending on Twitter in Japan following the Nov. 2 announcement from Yukio Edano, head of the country's largest opposition party the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP), that he will resign in response to the party's loss in the House of Representatives election.

       Edano has been subject to numerous Twitter trends. When he was the Japanese government's top spokesperson and responding round-the-clock to the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and subsequent meltdown of Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, the hashtag "edano_nero" (Edano sleep) trended. In 2017, when the then main opposition Democratic Party dissolved to merge with the now-defunct Party of Hope, Edano founded the CDP for the general election that year. The hashtag "edanotate" (Edano stand) trended then.

       Novelist Kei Nakazawa tweeted a message along with the three hashtags that read: "'Edano, sleep!' 'Edano, stand!' 'Edano, don't quit!' This is where we are now. It's rare for an unflashy politician to get this kind of support." Other accounts that appear to support opposition parties also wrote messages expressing disappointment at his resignation, including: "The opposition parties' united front (to counter the ruling coalition) has only just begun, it's too soon to be measuring its effect." Another wrote, "Apart from Edano, there isn't anyone else who can bring the opposition parties together, is there?"

       But there were some accounts that appear to support the ruling parties which also posted the hashtag sarcastically: "If Edano resigns, the ruling parties won't be able to win the next House of Councillors election, so it's better if he stays in place for us."

       (Digital News Center)

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