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What's Going On In This Picture From Japanese Parliament? The Much-Memed Attempt To Restrain Shinichi Yokoyama Explained
Over the past few months, a common sight under pictures of various female criminals (or even gender-neutral objects) has been a swarm of Japanese parliament members trying to wrest a mic away from a gentleman, depicted as saying "Would."
The Accidental Renaissance quality of the photograph has made it a striking meme, one perfectly suited for voicing an unpopular opinion. But what exactly is going on in this photo?
Who Is The Man With The Microphone, And What's Going On In This Photograph?
The man with the microphone is Shinichi Yokoyama, who in 2018 was the Chairman of the Judicial Affairs committee in Japanese Parliament.
On December 8th, 2018, Japanese Parliament voted on a hotly contested immigration reform bill that allowed foreign workers a path to Japanese citizenship. The plan was put forth by then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe earlier that year and was opposed by Japan's opposition party, as well as some in Abe's right-wing base.
When Yokoyama attempted to move to hold a vote on the controversial bill, he was beset by members of Parliament who apparently wanted to stop him from moving forward with a vote, leading to the image of Yokoyama speaking into his microphone while dozens of politicians attempted to restrain him.
It should be noted that physical altercations are not exactly a rarity in Japanese Parliament, as the group has made headlines for what some have called "brawls" in both 2015 and 2023.
How Is The Picture Of Shinichi Yokoyama Memed?
As Yokoyama worked to speak despite attempts to physically restrain him, the image is generally used in memes to express an unpopular opinion, one the general public wouldn't want a person to say. This is likely why it lent itself to the "Would" meme, which involves people "bravely" implying they'd hook up with a controversial figure.
While that's the most common way the photo is used in memes, it was originally used with other captions describing a situation where a mob of people piles on one another, such as at a punk show.
For more information, check out Japanese Parliament trying to stop Shinichi Yokoyama on Know Your Meme.
