Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has, so far, managed to keep the outbreak of new coronavirus COVID-19 from damaging his hard-won relationship with China, but that's getting more difficult with each new case confirmed in Japan.

Abe has taken a softer approach to China over the virus than the Trump administration, winning praise for Tokyo in Beijing. That resonates with his efforts to nurse Japan's relationship with its giant neighbor and biggest trading partner back to health since he took office in 2012 amid the worst crisis in decades.

Unlike others including the United States, Australia and Singapore, Abe's government has avoided a blanket ban on visitors from China, instead restricting entry from just two provinces. While acting quickly to evacuate its citizens from the outbreak's epicenter in Hubei, Japan also used the planes to fly in aid packages to its neighbor.