Comparing a large multicultural richer country does seem weird.

Indeed a tiny 126 million soul tiny country can not be compared with a country of 330 million souls. Also the USA having 1.5x the GDP / Capita does make Japan the richer country.

These countries unlike the USA have more economically and socially interventionist governments. I do wonder if the culture of Germany is closer to Japan or USA. To tackle a pandemic do you need more leadership or culture?

I mean beyond national security where is USA leadership?