Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga faced renewed pressure on Monday over his handling of the novel coronavirus pandemic, with a new opinion poll showing many believed the government was too slow to respond to the latest wave of infections.

Opposition lawmakers also showed increasing frustration with Suga's taciturn leadership style, demanding he provide detailed answers to questions about the COVID-19 crisis and the Tokyo Olympics, set to start in less than six months.

Suga is struggling to halt a steady decline in support for his four-month-old government, even after launching a raft of measures to contain a third wave of COVID-19 infections and with the Olympics due to begin on July 23.