International Trade and Industry Minister Mitsuo Horiuchi finalized a reshuffle plan for his key personnel Tuesday, including the appointment of Hisamitsu Arai, chief of the Patent Office, as MITI's new vice minister for international affairs.
The reshuffle will take effect upon Cabinet approval expected Friday. Hidehiro Konno, director general of the International Trade Administration Bureau, will serve as director general of the International Trade Policy Bureau.
Tadakatsu Sano, deputy chief of the International Trade Policy Bureau, will become director general of the International Trade Administration, while Takeshi Isayama, director general of the International Trade Policy Bureau, will head the Patent Office.
MITI vice minister Osamu Watanabe; Yasuhiro Inagawa, chief of the Natural Resources and Energy Agency; Industrial Policy Bureau chief Tadashi Ezaki; and Katsusada Hirose, director general of the Machinery and Information Industries Bureau, will remain in their respective posts.