Tokyo governor Naoki Inose's spectacular fall from grace

As a journalist, social critic and author, Naoki Inose was among the most respected in Japan. As governor of Tokyo, however, he has been comprehensively found wanting.

On Thursday, Inose announced that he would step down, bringing an end to a tenure that lasted just one week longer than a year, but has been on crumbling foundations for more than a month because of a financial scandal.

Inose, 67, had good reason for a demeanour that could be described as shell-shocked, given the rapidity with which his popularity plummeted. Just 12 months ago, he was basking in a gubernatorial election victory in which he tallied the largest number of votes in Tokyo's history.

That public acclaim was elevated to new highs in September, when the International Olympic Committee announced that Tokyo had been selected to host the 2020 Summer Olympic Games.

Inose had worked tirelessly to bring the Games back to the Japanese capital for the first time since 1964 and was apparently still planning to be in office for the opening ceremony in seven years' time.

The term the now former governor himself used to describe his political skills is telling; Inose says he was "naive". Political analysts in Japan say that is a little disingenuous, though it may have been just bad luck that brought the scandal to light.