On the road to becoming Japan's longest-serving prime minister, Shinzo Abe has overcome countless political perils. He may have met his match with COVID-19.

In a sign of mounting concern, Abe abandoned his relatively mild approach to the epidemic last week with a shock announcement urging schools to close nationwide from Monday.

The move sent millions of parents rushing to arrange child care and raised doubts about the government's grasp on a situation threatening to tank the economy, scuttle Tokyo's plan to host the Summer Olympics in four months and tarnish Abe's legacy.