For Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the past two weeks should have been marked by a series of small victories in a relentless battle against the deadly coronavirus, lifting the state of emergency in almost 90 percent of the country and getting it back in business.
But Abe was in no mood to celebrate. Instead, he was tossed about by a wave of condemnation involving a man that his administration took great pains to defend: Hiromu Kurokawa, head of the Tokyo High Public Prosecutor’s Office.
On Thursday, Kurokawa stepped down after a tabloid expose said he had gambled on mahjong with journalists twice this month despite the state of emergency requesting that nonessential outings be avoided.