"Yamashita Deputy Minister…" Fujimoto Takayoshi paused for a moment, then smiled and continued, "He's different from us. To use an old Chinese saying, he's like a lotus that rises from the mud without being tainted. But he's also a rational person who can recognize reality and just wants to live a stable life. He won't disrupt our plans, basic respect toward him will suffice."
"I see," Aoyama Xiu Xin nodded in sudden realization. Yamashita Kogoro was fully aware of the internal corruption but was powerless to change it and didn't want to kick against the pricks, hence he only asked for personal integrity.
This is what led to his peculiar position within the police headquarters; everyone ostracized him from the larger collective, yet spontaneously afforded him a certain degree of face.
When the environment is rotten enough, those who do not rot with it are already considered precious.
