Tokyo governor's tough stance trumps Abe's sluggish coronavirus response

TOKYO • With blunt warnings, flip charts and daily online briefings, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike has been delivering a tough message to the Japanese capital's residents and shops: Stay home and shut down to avert an explosive outbreak of the coronavirus.

Her no-nonsense approach to the pathogen's threat highlights what critics say is a timid, sluggish response by her long-time rival, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Sixty-four per cent disapproved of Mr Abe's handling of the outbreak in a survey by Sankei newspaper and Fuji News Network released yesterday, up 25.1 points from a late March poll.

Japan had over 7,600 infection cases and more than 140 deaths, public broadcaster NHK reported yesterday.

Ms Koike's sterner stance has pushed other governors to call on businesses to close despite the central government urging them to wait, a rare move in a country where national politicians typically rule the roost.

Political science professor Koichi Nakano at Sophia University said: "It shows how incompetent and mistrusted the national government is at this time."

Mr Abe declared a state of emergency last Tuesday. This gave legal authority to governors in Tokyo and six other potential hot spot prefectures to ask people to stay home and businesses to close, although there are no penalties for non-compliance.

But a feud over the scope and timing of business shutdowns kept Ms Koike from making her requests during what the Nikkei financial daily called a "72-hour vacuum", as Mr Abe sought to limit the pandemic's economic fallout.

"I thought governors would get authority akin to a CEO but... I feel more like a middle manager," Ms Koike said after winning a battle to ask pachinko parlours to close, but bowing to pressure to keep barbershops and home-furnishing centres open.

Mr Abe and his government have been reluctant to push for broad business closures for fear of further damage to an economy that was already on the verge of recession before the outbreak.

"Either you have a health emergency, or you don't. If you do, you don't take half-baked steps," said veteran Japan analyst Jesper Koll. "Where Koike stands out is she is giving people what they want - strong leadership that exudes confidence."

Meanwhile, the government yesterday defended Mr Abe after his bid to use social media to get more people to stay home drew accusations that he is out of touch with the struggles citizens are facing.

Mr Abe uploaded a video on his Twitter on Sunday, taking part in a trend where users overlay their videos on that of singer Gen Hoshino, as he performs a song supporting social distancing that can be translated as "Dance at Home".

Families have uploaded clips of themselves bopping in the cramped spaces of their homes. Mr Abe's minute-long version depicts a somewhat saturnine-looking prime minister at his residence holding his dog, drinking tea and channel surfing.

The hashtag "Who do you think you are?" trended after the video was released, with users attacking Mr Abe for seeming to be relaxing during a virus emergency.

Chief spokesman Yoshihide Suga said Mr Abe sympathised with the feelings in Mr Hoshino's video.

"As far as we can confirm on Twitter, this post got a large reaction and received a record 350,000 likes," he said.

REUTERS, BLOOMBERG