Nevertheless, he was moved by Kido's s persuasion and also thought that "instead of leaving Itagaki outside the government to let him join radical groups, he should keep him inside in order to sever the anti-government movement," and thus he took a softer line.
しかし、木戸の説得に押され、また『板垣を在野で放置して過激派と結びつかれるよりも、政府につなぎとめておいた方が、政府への反対運動を分断できる』と考え、態度を軟化させた。