The Foreign Ministry, responding to a recent embezzlement scandal involving a senior ministry bureaucrat, has put together a package of measures designed to "reform" its secrecy-shrouded diplomatic war chest. The package falls far short of public expectations, largely because the ministry has not disclosed details about how the controversial fund is used.
Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka has been trying hard to open the secret fund up to scrutiny, but without much success. The program, announced on Wednesday, calls for "diplomacy for the people and diplomacy attuned to the people." However, with the public kept in the dark about the fund -- the very source of the fraud scandal -- the appeal rings hollow.
The package represents only the beginning of the needed reform. The most important thing now is to restore public confidence in the Foreign Ministry. Mrs. Tanaka says she will take further disciplinary action against officials involved in the money scandal, but she has a more urgent need to address: giving the public a full accounting of how the fund is used.