I am probably the only person in Japan who will say this at the moment, and I suppose that what I am going to say will fall on deaf ears. But I will say it anyway: Administrative Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Yutaka Kawashima should not be removed from his post. If he is, the sacking is sure to be regretted sometime later.

Of course, I am not against questioning Kawashima and others over their responsibility for failing to supervise Katsutoshi Matsuo, the official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who allegedly embezzled ministry funds for his own private purposes. Also, although they have already been punished for having failed to surprise him, as with any other penalty, debate inevitably is going to continue about the degree of severity.

There is no evidence, however, that the Foreign Ministry was involved in the scandal as an organization. Some irresponsible people have been talking about organizational complicity, but in my experience this charge is quite inconceivable.