Yoshihiko Noda, Japan's prime minister, still chafes at a cover story in The Economist last year called "Turning Japanese", which argued that the West was suffering from a Japan-style lack of leadership. He has sought to change that image by pushing through a controversial bill to raise the consumption tax. But on October 1st he gave a lesson in how petty political expediency still trumps most things.

Just a week before hosting the annual IMF/World Bank meetings, Mr Noda replaced his finance minister with Koriki Jojima, a 65-year-old former union leader and parliamentary dealmaker who has neither ministerial nor financial experience. He is Japan's third finance minister in just over a year.

Analysts say Mr Jojima's appointment reflected little more than a "Buggins's turn" reshuffle, producing the third cabinet of Mr Noda's 13 months as prime minister. With support for his party weak ahead of an election he has promised to call soon, Mr Noda had to offer some party stalwarts cabinet posts to maintain unity. Mr Jojima's apparent bargaining skills may also have helped: Mr Noda needs opposition support for a bill to issue bonds to finance this year's budget in order to avoid Japan's own "fiscal cliff" in the coming months.