Japan's three-year fight against the COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact on politics and government management, with power struggles taking place during the administrations of former Prime Ministers Shinzo Abe and Yoshihide Suga.
The political jockeying that occurred beneath the surface — as Japan scrambled to take unprecedented infectious disease measures — shortened the administrations’ lifespans, according to multiple government sources.
In March 2020 amid the outbreak of COVID-19, Abe met Yukio Edano, then-leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, in parliament to gain support for law revisions that would allow a state of emergency to be declared.