I've tried to reproduce this, and failed...
$ sudo debootstrap --include=systemd bionic bionic ... $ ls -lnatr bionic/var/log/ | grep journal drwxr-sr-x+ 2 0 101 4096 Mar 16 18:23 journal
So fresh installation of systemd works as expected.
I guess we need to trace where/what/why certain cloud-images appear to be lacking this....
I've tried to reproduce this, and failed...
$ sudo debootstrap --include=systemd bionic bionic
...
$ ls -lnatr bionic/var/log/ | grep journal
drwxr-sr-x+ 2 0 101 4096 Mar 16 18:23 journal
So fresh installation of systemd works as expected.
I guess we need to trace where/what/why certain cloud-images appear to be lacking this....