Pearls and Irritations

“There just isn’t anyone to direct the government in the way that he has,” said Brad Glosserman, an expert on Japanese politics at the Center for Rule-Making Strategies at Tama University in Tokyo.

“There is no credible alternative in the opposition at this point, so the Japanese people are sticking with the devil they know,” Mr. Glosserman added, noting that the situation had created “a feeling that democracy is not really working.”

The coronavirus has endangered not just public health, but also major aspects of Mr. Abe’s legacy projects. Japan’s economy, which he had led out of nearly two decades in the doldrums, is on the brink of recession. China’s leader, Xi Jinping, on Thursday postponed a highly anticipated visit, the first by the country’s Communist Party chief in over a decade. And talk of calling off the Summer Olympics in Tokyo grows daily.

It’s an abrupt comedown. Until now, Mr. Abe, 65, “has led a charmed life,” said Michael Cucek, an assistant professor of political science at Temple University Japan.

Mr. Abe has skated past several political scandals that would have wiped out most other politicians in Japan, where even seemingly insignificant improprieties, like giving potatoes to constituents, can end in resignation.

Over the past year alone, a pair of cabinet ministers have resigned, Mr. Abe’s government has been accused of destroying records related to the possible misallocation of public funds, at least two members of his party have been linked to bribes from a Chinese gambling company, and prosecutors raided the offices of a close political ally over allegations that she violated campaign finance law.

Through it all, the public hardly batted an eye. Mr. Abe has long enjoyed the benefit of the doubt among Japanese voters, who in 2012 put him in office for a second time after a short, undistinguished stint starting in 2006.

His most recent rise to the prime minister’s office followed a period of instability in the country’s leadership that sapped the national appetite for politics. He was the seventh prime minister in seven years, and at the time of his elevation, just a year after what was seen as a bungled government response to the Fukushima disaster, he was considered the best of a bunch of bad options.

But he exceeded expectations, managing to lead the economy into a period of modest and relatively steady expansion, presiding over a winning Olympic bid, and skilfully finessing mercurial relationships with both Mr. Xi and Mr. Trump.

His handling of the coronavirus, however, has rapidly drained the reservoir of good will he had built up over seven years in office.

Unlike his past scandals, the virus response “affects the health of all the people,” said Mieko Nakabayashi, a professor at Waseda University in Tokyo and a former member of the Japanese Parliament for a rival party. “It is something that is related to each individual.”

“These kinds of mistakes make people question his priorities, whether he’s mature or a strong leader,” she added.

The problems began in January, when the government appeared slow to react to the explosion of coronavirus cases in neighboring China, just as Japan expected a flood of tourists from the country.

The situation quickly worsened in early February, when the government mismanaged the quarantine of the Diamond Princess, allowing the virus to circulate among the more than 3,700 crew members and passengers who were waiting out a two-week isolation period in the port city of Yokohama.

On shore, the government seemed incapable of keeping up with the growing demand for coronavirus tests. While other countries in the region quickly ramped up their diagnostic capacity, Japan has struggled to conduct the examinations.

Even as the problems mounted, though, Mr. Abe seemed uninterested. He made only brief appearances at strategy meetings, and spent his evenings wining and dining friends and cabinet ministers, appearing at parties even as the government called on people to avoid public gatherings.

That apparent complacency made his decision a week ago to call for the closing of the country’s schools seem all the more shocking. Japanese politicians and parents questioned its scientific basis and demanded to know how they were expected to both work and care for their children.

Mr. Abe has also drawn some alarm by pushing for a law that would grant him emergency powers to deal with the virus.

Within his own party, however, few feel safe speaking out against him, even in his weakened state, said Amy Catalinac, an assistant professor of politics at New York University.

“Abe has to an extraordinary degree made it difficult to mount criticism of him within the party,” she said, adding, “I don’t even know how low his support rating would have to go before the party would desert him.”

That is a crucial question as Mr. Abe considers his political future.