Messy reversal on tourism campaign

TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s abrupt decision to partially pause a domestic travel campaign amid rising Covid- 19 cases – after insisting it would go ahead – looks likely to cost him support.

Suga, who took the top job in September after Shinzo Abe resigned citing illness, has enjoyed solid ratings of over 50%, buoyed by an image as a down- to- earth leader pushing popular policies such as lower mobile phone rates.

But critics said his reversal on a programme he has backed to bolster the economy even as new cases spiked was too little, too late, and risked leaving the image of a leader both stubborn and indecisive, without due care for public health.

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