The government has selected 10 prominent figures from the private sector to form an advisory panel to Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto on administrative reforms, the minister in charge of such reforms said Friday.

According to Sadatoshi Ozato, chief of the Management and Coordination Agency, the 10 members include Takashi Imai, chairman of the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren); Sumiko Takahara, economic critic and former chief of the Economic Planning Agency; Teruhito Tokumoto, deputy chairman of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo); and Nobuo Ishihara, former deputy chief Cabinet secretary.

The panel is expected to advise Hashimoto on the implementation of his reforms in line with the newly enacted basic administrative reform law, Ozato said.