After his predecessor was forced from office over a slow-footed COVID-19 pandemic response, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida took one of the world’s most aggressive steps to contain the omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 — and then rapidly backpedaled.
Less than 24 hours after his administration called for a ban on new flight bookings into Japan, it reversed course amid confusion and complaints that the move went too far by potentially preventing the Japanese from returning home.
While the reversal was embarrassing, it might not in itself be damaging for Kishida, who has said he would take responsibility for any complaints that he is too cautious.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Opinion polls show that Japanese remain extremely concerned about a new wave of infections.
Former Japanese government adviser Yoichi Takahashi wrote on Twitter that the ban was “appalling” and the government should properly protect Japanese, whether inside or outside the country.
“It was a bit haphazard,” said Tsuneo Watanabe, a senior fellow at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation in Tokyo. “They acted, realized they had gone too far and reversed course. But the turnaround was fast, and I think they will learn to function better.”
The reversal added to frustration during a period when air travel usually picks up in Japan and left many with travel plans in limbo.
It created uncertainty for Japanese and foreign residents who are currently overseas about whether they could return to their homes.
Kishida has attempted to distance himself from the bookings suspension, telling reporters that he had “received a report” about it.
Japanese Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Tetsuo Saito later apologized for the handling of the matter and blamed it on one department within his ministry.
Yesterday, local media were quizzing officials about the narrative on the policy’s origins, in a development that could expose Kishida to criticism in parliament.
The stakes are high because after months of struggles, Japan has largely tamed the spread of COVID-19, and posts some of the lowest numbers of infections and deaths among advanced countries.
It recorded just 117 cases nationwide on Wednesday, compared with 86,565 in the US.
Any loss of faith in Kishida’s handling of the situation could mean that he fares poorly in an upper house election next year and put him at risk of being dispatched through the “revolving door” of short-serving premiers.
“Kishida has shown a lot of awareness of how things could quickly go wrong if he mishandles the pandemic,” said Tobias Harris, a senior fellow for Asia at the American Progress think tank.
The unpredictability of the pandemic might be the biggest risk to his grip on power. His most recent predecessors — Yoshihide Suga and Shinzo Abe, who frequently seemed out of tune with the public sense of urgency on the virus — rapidly lost voter support.
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