Arguably the most obvious misstep in the government's response to the COVID-19 crisis so far has been its free distribution of face masks, which many people found to be substandard, if not defective. At first, the reaction was mocking — some claimed the masks were too small and looked ridiculous on the wearer — but derision soon curdled into resentment when batches were found to be dirty and contaminated with hairs. The government's supposed charitable gesture came across as both self-serving and patronizing.
There is always a cross section of the public who find fault with the authorities, and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has his fair share of chronic critics. However, the mask debacle was beyond the pale for many and they saw it as being representative of the government's overall handling of the pandemic.
Some of these critics are in show business, an industry whose members usually avoid anything smacking of politics so as not to jeopardize employment opportunities.