By now, we have all heard of Abenomics, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's 2012 plan that called for the firing of "three arrows" — an aggressive monetary policy, fiscal consolidation and a growth strategy — to rescue Japan's economy from a prolonged deflationary spiral.

Almost from the get-go, Abe's more vociferous critics referred to it in news outlets as "Ahonomics." (“Aho,” to the uninitiated, means "fool.")

Now the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is generating more Abe spinoffs. The government's decision to send a pair of free face masks to each of the nation's households, at a cost of ¥46.6 billion, was derided as "Abenomasuku" (“Abe's masks”).