Outbreak, economic ills dim luster of Japan's Olympic year
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe should be basking in the limelight this year in the run-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Instead, the virus outbreak that has spread from China to even remote parts of Japan has Abe and his ruling Liberal Democratic Party playing defense.
Abe has skated through numerous scandals since taking office in late 2012, promising to "Make Japan Great Again." A relatively strong economy, robust share prices and the absence of strong political rivals have enabled him to hang on as the country's longest-serving prime minister, with a solid majority coalition.
