COVID-19 On The Rise in Japan; Shinzo Abe may be Bowing Out

Last updated on May 18th, 2021 at 05:49 am

Japan ‘s history of virus infections is on the rise faster than ever, and support for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is falling to new lows. Although Japan ‘s overall death toll remains close to what the United States sees in a day, the public worries that Japan might be sitting on a ticking time bomb.

Mr Abe ‘s support had fallen to a record low of 35.4% in the poll. Japan ‘s history of virus infections is on the rise faster than ever, and support for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is falling to new lows. Although Japan ‘s overall death toll remains close to what the United States sees in a day, the public worries that Japan might be sitting on a ticking time bomb.

Mr Abe ‘s support had fallen to a record low of 35.4% in the poll. Nobody in Mr. Abe ‘s ruling Liberal Democratic Party has stood out as a possible successor, although opposition parties are mired in single-digit support levels. Local leaders who have won popularity for their virus control, such as Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, do not have the political machine to win national elections.

Mr. Abe ‘s government appeared out of step with public concerns and saw the need to promote domestic travel with incentives amid the concern that the virus would spread. Next week, Japan enters one of its busiest travel periods-Obon holidays-and the national government has not given a general order for people to stay home, even though some regional states are asking people not to visit.

At the latest in a series of flip-flops, Mr. Abe dug his useless signature fabric mask for a larger face cover. Since declining at the end of May, coronavirus cases flared up in the aftermath of what many saw as a hasty re-opening of the economy, as the government tried to save distressed firms.

The seven-day average of daily new infections is now more than 1,000, almost double the previous high seen in April. While Mr. Abe has bounced back from the blows to his approval ratings since he took office in 2012, his average popularity has been falling down for about a year now, as a result of a series of scandals.