Japan’s ruling bloc was desperate. Hammered by scandals and sinking ratings, the Liberal Democratic Party gambled on a new leader less than a year ago. They chose Shigeru Ishiba. And to quote what Michael Caine’s Alfred Pennyworth said of the Joker in 2008’s "The Dark Knight," in their desperation they turned to a man they didn’t fully understand.

Ishiba, who after weeks of speculation announced his resignation on Sunday, is no Joker. But he will be remembered as something of a punchline — and his time in power one of tumult that has threatened to reduce the country’s international standing at a moment of global transformation.

The premier was always an enigma and got the job only because the kingmakers preferred him to the alternative, the archconservative Sanae Takaichi. But few could have foreseen that a man who spent his entire career seeking leadership would have so flimsy a plan that he would lose three elections in less than a year. Right-wingers have deserted the party and his initial refusal to step down threatened to split it in two.