Japan's top admiral stepped down on Friday amid mounting public distrust of the Defense Ministry and the Self-Defense Forces following a recent spate of scandals centered on their maritime branch.
Ryo Sakai was replaced as chief of staff of the Maritime Self-Defense Force by Akira Saito after the ministry announced a week ago its disciplinary actions against 218 SDF members and senior bureaucrats over the mishandling of sensitive information, among other issues.
At the outset of a session for a transition between the two, which was open to the media, Sakai said Saito is the "right person to reform" the MSDF, while the successor noted that the force "cannot afford to stop, given the current severe security environment."
The scandals include the sharing of classified information with unauthorized personnel and MSDF members fraudulently receiving allowances for diving training and duties they did not engage in.
Other scandals concerned abuse of power and failure to pay for food at base cafeterias.
The ministry said Thursday that four MSDF members were arrested in November on suspicion of fraudulently receiving diving allowances through false applications, but prosecutors have decided not to indict them.
The ministry initially did not disclose the arrests when it announced the disciplinary actions on July 12, which fueled criticism against the ministry and the SDF. Opposition parties have called for Defense Minister Minoru Kihara's resignation.
Kihara apologized at a press conference for the ministry's failure to provide the details earlier, explaining that he was only informed of it late Thursday night.
Kihara said he would stay on his job as he believes it is in "the best interest" of the ministry and the SDF. He pledged to implement measures to prevent a recurrence and to change the mentality of SDF personnel.
At a separate news conference, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi also denied that Kihara would step down as the defense minister, saying he hopes Kihara would "exercise leadership to rebuild the organization swiftly."
The top government spokesman, however, admitted that the ministry "should have publicized available information with as many details as possible" over the scandals.
The ministry also launched a special investigation on Tuesday into the alleged creation of slush funds by Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. to provide money and goods to MSDF submarine crew members via fictitious transactions with subcontractors.
