Political leaders are such an unrewarding species. No matter how successful they may appear, a single incident can instantly destroy their political life. The COVID-19 outbreak is a perfect example. No matter how hard they try to maneuver, it is political orthodoxy that ultimately matters in politics.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was badly criticized for being "invisible" until late last week. Japan failed to contain the outbreak at its borders and is now trying to curb domestic infections. Abe had to call a news conference on Saturday to seek public support for his fight against the virus with a big emergency economic package.
The prime minister is desperately trying to sell a series of unpopular but logically inevitable drastic measures to the public to minimize the damage to the nation. No one knows whether he will succeed but the difficulty is that, unlike in China, Abe has to sell the measures via a transparent, democratic process.