<During his eight years in power from 2012 to 2020, Abe had pledged to completely remake the economy. The country’s dismal vaccination results are merely the latest evidence of the hollowness of his promises. >
<If Abe, and now Suga, had moved earlier to internationalize labor markets, incentivize innovation, empower women and take on a change-averse bureaucracy, Japan might not be last in the developed-nation class on vaccinations. Its economy wouldn’t be losing ground as China sprints by.>
<Sexism scandals among top Olympic officials have made global headlines — reminding onlookers why Japan lags Angola and Sri Lanka in gender equality.>
<That’s indeed where Japan finds itself on vaccines — more in league with the Philippines and Thailand than with Asian success stories such as Singapore and South Korea. It’s not a good look for a country that was hoping to use the Olympics to profile its status as a good global citizen.>