Exactly one week ago, the continued spread of COVID-19 prompted Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to declare a state of emergency, forcing many people to forgo what was taken for granted in their pre-pandemic days.

The prime minister bears a heavy responsibility for the lives and well-being of citizens. But has any of his messages over the past week really resonated with the public at all?

For the first time since declaring the state of emergency, Abe on April 14 answered questions from both the ruling and opposition blocs during the Lower House plenary session.

“It is incorrect to suggest that Japan was slower than other countries in reacting (to the pandemic),” he argued. “Our emergency economic stimulus package is as good as its European or American counterpart.”

However, Abe should know that he cannot allay people’s specific fears by merely repeating that he has so far dealt with the crisis as best he could.

On the day he issued the declaration, he held a news conference and also appeared on television and implored people to stay home.

But after that, he appears to have delegated all responsibility--including communicating with the public--to Yasutoshi Nishimura, the economic revitalization minister who is in charge of containing the COVID-19 crisis.

For instance, when a compromise was finally reached between Nishimura and Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike over their seemingly irreconcilable policy differences concerning requests to businesses to close down temporarily, all Abe said was, “I’m so glad that both sides were able to see eye to eye.”

Throughout the past week, the government has been inconsistent at best. Despite the state of emergency declaration, the government balked at the Tokyo government’s plan to ask businesses to shut down.

On the other hand, the government called on all corporations to keep 70 percent of their workers at home, and made an expanded, nationwide request to the public to refrain from visiting busy entertainment districts where restaurants and bars have wait staff serving customers.

In short, the government has come up with no firm guideline on how far to restrict the public’s movements, leaving the public totally confused about exactly how they are supposed to cooperate.

Normally, it is the responsibility of the prime minister himself to explain each government policy directly to the public through news conferences and other means.

But Abe has failed to do so, proving himself tone-deaf and out of touch with public sentiment.

That became quite clear in a video Abe posted on his social media account, using a song titled “Uchi de Odoro” (Let’s dance at home) by singer-songwriter Gen Hoshino as the background music.

We understand that Abe’s message, directed mainly at young people, was to ask them to stay home. But by showing himself relaxing in his living room, cuddling his pet dog and sipping a drink, he invited severe criticism from viewers, many of whom lashed out in disgust, “Who the hell do you think you are?”

Obviously, Abe could not even begin to imagine the pent-up frustrations and anxieties of many citizens over their uncertain future.

The same applies to his initiative to distribute two cloth face masks to every household. The effectiveness of those face mask in preventing viral infections is very much open to debate. And just two masks per household?

Naturally, most people felt the government should be spending taxpayer money on something else.

And it was reported that Abe jumped on the face mask idea when a bureaucrat close to him assured him, “(The masks) will immediately dispel the public’s unease.” The prime minister’s naivete is beyond pathetic.

The special measures law, on which the government’s appeal to the public to practice self-restraint, is not enforceable. Whether the appeal will be heeded and produce the desired results depends entirely on each citizen’s readiness to cooperate voluntarily.

The key to success ultimately hinges on the ability of the nation’s top political leader to speak words that resonate with people and make them really want to change their ways.

--The Asahi Shimbun, April 15