Japan Surpasses South Korea in COVID-19 Cases and Deaths... Abe Administration 'Shaken' (Comprehensive)

10,661 Confirmed Cases and 234 Deaths in Korea
11,145 Confirmed Cases and 237 Deaths in Japan
Japanese Media: "Abe's Wavering Shakes Regime Foundation"

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is holding a video conference at the Prime Minister's Official Residence on the afternoon of the 16th, requesting an increase in medical supplies.

The cumulative number of confirmed cases and deaths from the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in Japan has surpassed that of South Korea.

According to NHK's compilation of announcements from various local governments, 584 new confirmed cases were reported in Japan the previous day, bringing the cumulative total to 11,145 as of midnight on the 19th.

Recently, Japan's daily new confirmed cases have remained in the 500s.

Meanwhile, South Korea's number of new confirmed cases dropped to single digits for the first time in 61 days.

As of midnight on the 19th, South Korea recorded only 8 new confirmed cases the previous day, bringing the cumulative total to 10,661.

The number of deaths among confirmed COVID-19 cases in Japan increased by 17 to 237.

The death toll also exceeded South Korea's 234 as of midnight on the 19th by 3.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, wearing a mask, is arriving at the Prime Minister's Official Residence in Tokyo on the 16th. On this day, Prime Minister Abe expanded the state of emergency, which had been declared in seven local governments including Tokyo, to the entire country due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

Meanwhile, Japanese media are reporting that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is wavering in his response to COVID-19 and that even his political base is shaking.

One trigger for this assessment was when Prime Minister Abe initially announced a payment of 300,000 yen to households with sharply reduced income as part of emergency economic measures against COVID-19, but changed the policy to a uniform payment of 100,000 yen (about 1.13 million won) per person after opposition from coalition partner Komeito and others.

The Mainichi Shimbun analyzed on the 18th, "Komeito, pressured by criticism from its support base, strongly forced the reorganization of the supplementary budget, leaving the Prime Minister's Office with no choice," and stated, "The political base of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, known as the 'strong one,' has been shaken."

Komeito took a last stand by refusing to attend a meeting of the House of Representatives Budget Committee on the 16th to discuss the schedule for deliberating the supplementary budget, and it is reported that Prime Minister Abe eventually yielded.

The Asahi Shimbun analyzed that the confusion surrounding the Abe administration's response to COVID-19 stems from changes in the power dynamics that have supported the administration.

Initially, crisis management for the Abe administration was handled by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga and Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Kazuhiro Sugita.

However, during the nationwide simultaneous school closure request in February, policy decisions were made without the involvement of Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga, with close aides of the Prime Minister's Office taking the lead, including Education Minister Koichi Hagiuda.

The Asahi stated, "Cabinet approval ratings have tended to fall across various media polls," and diagnosed, "In the Abe administration, which is being manipulated by the novel coronavirus and is wavering, voices have emerged even within the ruling party saying 'this looks like the final stage of the administration.'"

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.