Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba unveiled in a recent interview a basic initiative to integrate civilian and Self-Defense Forces operations into three bureaus by reorganizing the ministry.

The move comes in the wake of a series of defense scandals.

The new bureaus would handle defense buildup, operations and external affairs.

"There is no sense of unity between the suits and the uniforms," Ishiba said in reference to bureaucrats and SDF officers, blaming the problem on structural defects, and stressing the need to reshape the ministry into an "organization with integrated responsibility and authority."