The Foreign Ministry plans to introduce a new personnel system in the spring that will allow officials to evaluate their bosses as part of reform efforts in the wake of a series of ministry scandals.
The system, which may be adopted in April, would also allow officials to apply for the head posts of certain sections at the ministry as well as for posts at a number of foreign diplomatic establishments, ministry sources said Saturday.
The system would stipulate that personnel reshuffles take place twice a year -- in April, when the Diet implements the state budget for each new fiscal year, and after summits of the Group of Eight major nations.