The Curious Case of Japan in Covid Times: Where It Went Wrong for the Abe Admin

FTA:

This article answers two seemingly paradoxical questions. First, how did Japan control COVID-19 for so long while defying WHO protocols? Second, given that success, why have they recently lost control of the virus?

And concludes:

The early implementation of moderate social distancing — combined with a culture of mask wearing and a strong sense of personal space around the hands slowed the spread of COVID-19 in Japan. Unfortunately, those same policies and cultures also allowed the government to get away with a pandemic strategy that was based on bad data, poor logic, and worse implementation. Under-testing, a deliberate part of that strategy, prevented the government from being accountable, meaning that just as COVID-19 was taking root in the country, people began abandoning the very social distancing which protected them in the first place. One hopes that Japan has managed to retain plenty of medical supplies with their conservative approach to fighting COVID-19, because soon, they might need them.