Shinjiro Koizumi's appointment Monday as parliamentary secretary in charge of Tohoku's recovery has generated much attention amid mounting criticism of the government for failing to speed up reconstruction efforts or end the radioactive water spill into the sea at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.

The 32-year-old son of popular former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is one of four parliamentary secretaries at the Reconstruction Agency and will oversee its Iwate and Miyagi divisions. It is the first time Koizumi, a Liberal Democratic Party Lower House lawmaker, has been tapped for any government position.

"I would like to do my best to win the trust of the people (in the disaster-hit northeast) by visiting the area and listening to them," Koizumi told reporters after taking office Tuesday.