Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga offered few new details in Diet sessions this week about how his administration will fight the raging coronavirus pandemic, and defended it from criticism that its actions had been too little, too late.
Taking heat from one opposition lawmaker after another during the three days of question-and-answer sessions, the prime minister largely stuck to a prepared manuscript, giving explanations he had already shared. Suga expressed determination to stamp out infections using the state of emergency already declared across 11 prefectures, and a vaccine rollout that could begin as early as mid-February.
More fast-paced debates began Friday afternoon at a meeting of the budget committee, with the administration hoping to pass a ¥21.8 trillion third supplementary budget by next week. The opposition is expected to ramp up its attacks on Suga’s administration, which has seen its approval ratings plunge.