Heizo Takenaka, just named to the brand-new post of minister of postal reform, said Tuesday he will "keep talking" to Liberal Democratic Party politicians until he wins their support for privatization.
"We will keep the LDP posted on every step we take," he said in an interview. "But I cannot say when" LDP approval will be won. "We have a huge task ahead."
A former economics professor and a key member of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's new Cabinet, Takenaka was reappointed Monday as economic and fiscal policy minister as well as being named to the newly created ministerial post in charge of privatizing the nation's postal system.