Veteran diplomat Takao Kawakami will replace Kunihiko Saito as head of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka said Tuesday.
Tanaka said she received Cabinet approval for the personnel change in the morning, and that Saito is expected to resign Friday, with Kawakami's appointment taking effect the following day.
Kawakami, who formerly served as ambassador to Pakistan and Indonesia, was assigned as envoy in charge of inspecting the ministry's overseas missions in May but was removed from the post earlier this month after Tanaka decided he would replace Saito.
Saito is one of four successive vice foreign ministers up to Yutaka Kawashima who were stripped of their posts in an Aug. 10 personnel reshuffle as punishment for a fraud scandal involving a former ministry logistics expert. Kawashima resigned from the ministry in the reshuffle.
JICA is an overseas aid entity affiliated with the Foreign Ministry.