• Shinzo Abe, Japan’s Political Houdini, Can’t Escape Coronavirus Backlash - The New York Times
    https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/05/world/asia/japan-abe-coronavirus.html

    “Openness is very important in the fight against the virus,” he noted. “All of the ministers are under the control of Mr. Abe. They cannot say a word against him.”

    “This is a structural problem of the Abe administration,” he added.

    The coronavirus has presented a serious test for many world leaders, including President Trump, who is trying to repel criticism of his government’s initial response as he faces a re-election campaign.

    For Mr. Abe, though, the very consolidation of power that seems to have hampered the official reaction to the virus may ultimately keep him firmly in place, no matter how much the public sours on him. Japan’s political opposition has fallen into disarray and its news media has grown ever more deferential, leaving a widespread feeling in the country that there is no alternative to the sitting prime minister.

    (…) the situation had created “a feeling that democracy is not really working.”

    toute ressemblance…