In American newspapers, wire services, cable TV and blogs, U.S. President Donald Trump is beset by a host of recurring brickbats, from complaints over his refusal to make public his income tax returns and alleged Russian connections, to his reputation as a male chauvinist and propensity to cite conspiracy theories and ¡°alternative facts,¡± which he taps out via Twitter at all hours of the night.

While these topics did pop up occasionally in Japanese media during last year¡¯s election campaign, they were not overly scrutinized, probably because of the seemingly heavy odds against a Trump victory.

Once Trump was inaugurated, however, they attracted even less attention. Why?