In another apparent effort to win support for the ruling coalition before Sunday's election, the government said Tuesday it will appoint a private-sector executive as head of the Social Insurance Agency.
Kiyoshi Murase, currently vice president and senior managing executive officer at Sompo Japan Insurance Inc., will be appointed in mid-July as director general of the agency.
It is the first time a private-sector corporate executive has been tapped for the position, which so far has been monopolized by health ministry bureaucrats.