Foreign Ministry fires official over embezzlement

TOKYO, Japan - Foreign Minister Yohei Kono announces in Tokyo on Jan. 25 the results of a Foreign Ministry investigation which found that a senior official had diverted money from a secret government fund into his bank account. Kono said Katsutoshi Matuo, 55, is suspected of having embezzled at least 54 million yen in public funds and the ministry filed a criminal complaint against him with the Metropolitan Police Department. Matsuo was dismissed from the ministry.