After continued disappointment in a hostile cabinet and a floundering economy, another disposable Japanese prime minister is throwing in the towel. Our second in two years.

Amidst all the déjà vu and initial surprise over a decision which has quickly been slammed as “irresponsible,” I don’t see or hear a whole lot of resounding disappointment in Yasuo Fukuda’s decision to step down as prime minister. I don’t even doubt he’ll be missed–another unpopular talking head, under watch for scandal, out of touch with the political parties, the economy, and the people he was supposed to bring together, even after Abe resigned last September for similar reasons.

But what actually happened? Asian news outlets and internet forums are abuzz with theories and the implications this could have on Japanese markets. Apparently though, it would seem that only the foreign, non-Japanese media outlets have reason to be surprised, as only a few weeks previous, former prime minister (in 2000) and highly respected member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Yoshiro Mori said in a television interview (and many subsequent newspaper headlines) that Fukuda was already finished. Was he forced out because he was an unenthusiastic pawn with the personality of a cheese sandwich who couldn’t step to the responsibility of wearing the trousers? In a perfect world, yes. But mostly no. Probably the most interesting, and feasible explanation as forewarned by Mori, was that in dire circumstances surrounding a prime minister’s resignation, the diet is given permission to convene for a special and expedited session–one that would give the party 30 extra days to wave through any of Fukuda’s pending proposed legislation, thus keeping the LDP party proposals afloat in the wake of crowding from coalition partners in the New Komeito Party.

Fukuda didn’t quit, as much as he was a chess piece, bumped off the board by his own party in the name of political progress. So as the LDP begins preparations for its next election on September 20th (a date auspiciously chosen by the LDP to upstage the Democratic Party of Japan’s leadership election), the rest of the country sits back and rolls its collective eyes, sadly reminiscing on the not-so-distant past where their maverick leaders actually mattered, and were elected by popular vote and not by cabinet shuffle “technicalities.”

Oh, and the “political vacuum” Fukuda cited as reason for stepping down? That’s just all the sucking he managed to accomplish in his 12 fruitful months as PM.