The Democratic Party of Japan plans to assign former Cabinet members to head key committees in the House of Representatives to secure the ruling party's leadership in the divided Diet, DPJ sources said.
The DPJ is set to appoint Hiroshi Nakai, former chief of the National Commission on Public Safety as well as state minister in charge of the North Korean abduction issue, as chairman of the Lower House Budget Committee, the sources said.
It has also decided to name former Environment Minister Sakihito Ozawa as chairman of the Environment Committee, the sources said.
In addition, former Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Minister Tatsuo Kawabata has been selected to lead the Lower House steering committee, they said.
All three served in Prime Minister Naoto Kan's Cabinet before Friday's reshuffle