Vaccine Rollout Begins Weds As Jab Chief Kono Rises Up Political Rankings

Japan's COVID-19 vaccine rollout begins on Wednesday, with 40k medical workers set to be the first to receive their doses. There has been some criticism of the Japanese gov't regarding the relative slowness of the vaccine rollout compared to developed markets in the west. However, given Japan's low case numbers and fatalities on a per capita basis, the gov't pursued a strategy of eliminating community transmission of the virus rather than mass vaccination as soon as possible.

• Taro Kono, the Minister for Administrative Reform and Regulatory Reform, was three weeks ago given the duties of a 'vaccine tsar', leading the rollout of the inoculation. Today Kono stated that the objective was to have all senior citizens fully vaccinated with two doses within two months and three weeks.
• Kono (58), a former foreign and defence minister, is viewed as a strong communicator compared to the more formal speaking style of PM Yoshihide Suga (72). According to polls, Kono is the most popular politician in Japan, standing in stark contrast to Suga whose approval ratings have declined significantly since he took office in Sep-20. A Nikkei poll in early Feb showed Kono as the most preferred candidate for PM with 25% support, compared to just 6% for Suga.
• Kono's rise to prominence has raised speculation that the governing LDP could end up selecting him to run as its candidate for PM in the elections to the lower house of Japanese parliament due by 22 Oct. The party is due to make a decision on its candidate in September.