Just as the nation was scrambling to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus on the Diamond Princess cruise ship in late February and early outbreaks elsewhere, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was battling his own crisis: overcoming criticism over a perceived lack of leadership.
Fast forward almost six months as the country documents even more cases of COVID-19 — routinely shattering daily records for the number of new infections — and he is facing similar criticism, being panned for his reluctance to hold official news conferences and convene an extraordinary Diet session to discuss the government's responses to the pandemic.
Although circumstances are different now, compared to the early phases of the crisis, critics are questioning Abe’s accountability over his administration’s policies that aimed at keeping new infections low while boosting the economy, including the last-minute change to the Go To Travel domestic tourism promotion campaign.
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