A day after one of his Cabinet members resigned over a political funding scandal, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday appointed Yoshimi Watanabe as the new administrative reform minister.
Prior to his appointment, Watanabe, 54, served as senior vice minister for economic and fiscal policy in the Cabinet Office. He has also been a longtime member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's administrative reform committee.
For Abe, who has been suffering declining public support, the move is meant to underscore his commitment to reforms that he hopes will reduce the country's heavy debts and provide a lift to the economy.