A panel of outside experts advising the Foreign Ministry held its first meeting Wednesday morning to review ministerial operations and discuss ways of preventing further misuses of public funds.
The six-member panel, formed in the wake of an embezzlement scandal involving a former ministry official, selected Akira Saito, president of the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper, as the chair and University of Tokyo professor Akihiko Tanaka as deputy chair.
It has scheduled meetings to be held on 10 consecutive Wednesdays and will submit its recommendations within three months.