The 113th episode of the NHK Asadora drama "Omusubi " (General TV, Monday to Saturday 8:00 a.m. and others), starring Kanna Hashimoto Shinya Niiro), an employee of Kobe City Hall, appeared for the first time in a long time, and the mask he was wearing attracted the attention of viewers.
In the 113th episode, as the coronavirus infection spreads, more and more patients are transported to Osaka Shin-Yodogawa Memorial Hospital where Yui (Hashimoto) works, and the medical staff begin to show signs of fatigue. In addition, the government issued a state of emergency declaration, forcing restaurants and other businesses to suspend operations.
Meanwhile, the barbershop "Hair Salon Yoneda" run by Masato (Kitamura Yukiya) was allowed to open, but Masato asked Wakabayashi if it was okay to continue operating. Wakabayashi went to the store and explained to Masato, "Barbershops and beauty salons are necessary businesses to maintain social life, so it seems they can continue operating. However, please take proper precautions against infection."
When Masato asked, "Do we really have to be so thorough?", Wakabayashi emphasized the importance of prevention by saying, "Infectious diseases are frightening," and recalled the influenza epidemic that occurred in temporary housing after the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. He then said, "We've overcome many things, haven't we? If we all join forces this time, we can definitely overcome it. Let's do our best together."
In this scene, Masato was wearing a large non-woven mask, while Wakabayashi was wearing a small gauze mask. At the time, in order to resolve the shortage of non-woven masks, the Abe administration provided two cloth masks to every household from April 2020. These masks came to be called "Abenomasks" in reference to Prime Minister Abe's economic policy "Abenomics."
Many viewers were reminded of those days, and "Abenomask" briefly trended on X (formerly Twitter). On social media, comments included, "Wakabayashi-san, you're wearing an Abenomask! Just as you'd expect from a city employee lol," "The mask is small, but maybe it's an Abenomask?" "It's perfect for expressing Wakabayashi-san's occupation and seriousness, wearing an Abenomask," and "He also used a cloth mask in the early days. I'm already nostalgic for the Abenomask."
