There’s a television set huddled in to a corner of the teacher’s office here at school. This battered relic of the 1970s is only powered up for national sporting events or national news. Today the TV had the attention of everybody in the room.

Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama was on the screen announcing his resignation, making him the fourth Japanese PM to resign his post in less than four years.

His election was a groundbreaking victory for the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), which promised to strive for a more transparent national leadership. Not long after, some clouds came to rain on Hatoyama’s transparent regime.

 There were two money scandals, one resulting in the imprisonment of two of his aides for tweaking some campaign contribution documents. The other was a revelation on how far a mother’s love will stretch for her son. Until investigators got wind of it, Hatoyama’s monthly allowance from mom peaked at around $170,000. Really though, just because mom is your biggest fan doesn’t mean you’re a bad politician.

The straw that broke this reportedly aloof and apparently brittle camel’s back was Hatoyama’s failed promise to remove the U.S. army base on Okinawa, which holds more than half of the U.S. troops stationed in Japan. Hatoyama balked at the removal of the base after the sinking of a South Korean battleship which for him must have thrown the instability of the East Asia in to relief.

The next Prime Minister will be chosen by the DPJ on Friday, and will take office after a parliamentary hearing next week. Currently all national trends are pointing to the trailblazing appointment of five co-ruling ministers – the members of Arashi, otherwise known as “the coolest thing ever” by teenage girls throughout Japan.