The Abe administration plans to set up an agency to handle sports affairs ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, officials said Friday.
A new post of Cabinet minister in charge of preparing for the Olympics will also be established, the officials said.
The Cabinet on Friday approved two bills that would establish the agency and increase the number of Cabinet ministers by one to 19.
If the two bills pass the Diet during the ongoing regular session through June 24, the agency will be created in October.
The agency will be aimed at strengthening Japanese athletics and enhancing the nation's contributions to the world through sports.
Education minister Hakubun Shimomura, whose remit includes sports along with culture, science and technology, said at a news conference that the plan is aimed at unifying sports policies and that the administration wants to pick a person familiar with sports and governance for the new post.
Toshiaki Endo, a Lower House member from the Liberal Democratic Party and a former senior vice education minister, is expected to serve as the new minister, political sources said.
The sports agency will have a staff of around 120 and will be set up as an affiliated organization of the education ministry and will take over some functions from a few other ministries, the officials said.
The Abe administration initially aimed to establish the sports agency this April, but the plan hit a snag due to slow progress in talks among the ministries concerned.
A bill to create a Cabinet post in charge of the Tokyo Olympics passed the Lower House last year, but it died when the chamber was dissolved for the December snap election.