After effectively removing gaffe-prone Olympics minister Yoshitaka Sakurada Wednesday night, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appointed Shunichi Suzuki, Sakurada's predecessor, as the next Olympics minister Thursday.
"I want (Suzuki) to regain trust and bring the Olympics to a success," Abe told reporters Thursday morning.
Sakurada submitted his resignation to Abe Wednesday after coming under increasing pressure over a series of gaffes, including the most recent, which concerned the recovery effort in the quake- and tsunami-damaged Tohoku region.