Hoping to put an end to a raft of scandals, the government held the first meeting Monday of a panel on reforming the Defense Ministry.

"The public must be wondering why (so many scandals have occurred)," Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura told reporters. "Over the past several years, there have been repeated (scandals) . . . including those related to procurements and information leaks."

The latest scandal involves the arrest of former Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya on bribery charges.