The Meiji Government, in any case, which had some misgivings about the possibility of 'another Satsuma Rebellion' started by the Freedom and the People's Rights Movement, avoided examining the responsibility of ITAGAKI and GOTO and settled the situation dismissing the case as the act of some extremists who went too far.
いずれにしても、自由民権派による「第2の西南戦争」になる事を危惧した明治政府側は板垣・後藤に対する責任追及を避けて、「一部過激派」の暴走と規定することで事態の収拾を図ったとは言える。