TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga faced renewed pressure today (Jan 25) over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, with a new opinion poll showing many believed the government at snail pitch to respond to the latest wave of infections. Opposition lawmakers were also highly frustrated with Suga's taciturn leadership style, demanding he provides detailed answers to questions about the COVID-19 crisis and the Tokyo Olympics set to start in less than six months.

Yoshihide Suga is struggling to halt a steady decline in support for his 4-month-old government even after launching a raft of measures to contain a third wave of coronavirus infections with the Olympics due to begin on July 23. Support for Suga's cabinet dropped to 33 per cent from 39 per cent last month, with disapproval rising 10 points to 45 per cent, according to a poll published by the Asahi newspaper on Monday.

The poll conducted by telephone on the weekend showed 80 per cent of respondents thought the government was too slow to declare a state of emergency in response to the covid19 outbreak which has swept the country since December.

Critics also say Suga took too long to pause a domestic tourism campaign that some experts have blamed for contributing to the spread of the virus beyond the initial hotspots in the Tokyo region.

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