People are referring 73-year-old Yutaka Umeda, mayor of Yamato, Kumamoto Prefecture, as 'Jo Baiden', thereby forming a virtual bond between him and the US President elect.

According to the Japan Times: "Kanji (Chinese characters) usually have several phonetic readings. The mayor’s family name comprises characters meaning “plum” and “rice field,” but while they are usually pronounced as “ume” and “da” in names — a fairly common one in Japan — they can also be read as “bai” and “den.” The character for Yutaka, meanwhile, is more commonly read as “jo”."

Happy with the adulation he has received, Umeda said Biden's win feels personal.

"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 Mayor said.

"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.

According to reports, Joe Biden won 7,54,04,182 votes while the outgoing US President Donald Trump, who is yet to concede, got 7,09,03,094 votes.