How the Tokyo Olympics became the Achilles heel for Japan’s prime minister

Back in January, Yoshihide Suga told his fellow parliamentarians the Tokyo Olympics would stand as “proof of human victory against the coronavirus”. With Covid-19 cases mounting a record-breaking ascent as the five-ringed crusade rocked into town, the prime minister’s assertion began to look less like a crystal-ball ball prediction, more like an ill-timed jinx.

For Suga, the Olympics became increasingly make or break, and the recent announcement he would not be re-running for the premiership in the autumn general election shows the pendulum has swung towards the latter. His decision closes the curtain on a year-long tenure marred by viral surges, increasingly vocal public discord, and stifled political progress.

Perhaps unfortunately, it’s impossible to view Suga’s reign through any other prism than that of the Games. As the pandemic refused to abate, his continued pro-Tokyo 2020 rhetoric put unprecedented levels of international scrutiny upon every decision he and his cabinet made. It also helped to detract from some of his more positive moves, like setting a net zero target for 2050, pushing for digital reforms, and encouraging cheaper competition in the mobile data-provision market.