Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is fighting for his political survival less than a year into the top job after voters used a local mayoral election to rebel against his government’s handling of the pandemic.

Rather than riding a wave of post-Olympics popularity after overseeing a relatively smooth Tokyo Games, Mr Suga now faces rising public frustration at soaring COVID-19 infections and a hospital system unable to cope with anything more than the most severe cases.