The Abe administration plans to appoint the father of Sho Sakurai, an actor and member of the pop idol group Arashi, as vice minister of internal affairs and communications, government sources said Friday.
Shun Sakurai, 61, currently vice minister for policy coordination, is expected to replace Toshio Oishi, 62, as the ministry's top bureaucrat, possibly by the end of this month.
Sakurai joined the old Posts and Telecommunications Ministry in 1977 after graduating from the University of Tokyo. He has spent many years in the information and communications field, helping promote competition among mobile carriers and the reorganization of the NTT group.
The Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry, which was created in 2001 through the merger of the home affairs, and posts and telecommunications ministries, and the Management and Coordination Agency, has regulatory authority over the TV and radio industry.
