Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka indicated Friday that she has given up for now plans to replace Vice Foreign Minister Yutaka Kawashima, saying she "is not thinking about it."
Speculation had been growing that Tanaka would advance the regular personnel shifts of senior officials scheduled for after the July Group of Eight summit meetings to this month.
It was believed that Tanaka may have wanted to dump Kawashima immediately after the ministry's announcement of a plan to reform its operations, which was called for after a fraud scandal involving a former official in charge of logistics for VIP trips overseas.
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