A long-awaited list of members of a key government panel that will discuss proposed privatization of road-related public bodies was released Friday, controversially naming the well-known nonfiction writer Naoki Inose.
Inose, a vocal critic of the state of the nation's public bodies, is widely viewed as the last person many lawmakers in the ruling bloc wanted involved, and some observers believe his inclusion could determine the fate of supposedly reformist Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Cabinet.
The seven-member body will study the privatization of four public corporations that build and manage expressways across the country — Japan Highway Public Corp., Metropolitan Expressway Public Corp., Hanshin Expressway Public Corp. and Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Authority.