Former internal affairs ministry man Akira Shimazu was named secretary general of the 2019 Rugby World Cup organizing committee by its board on Tuesday.
The 70-year-old Shimazu was the ministry's administrative vice minister and will be counted on to coordinate with the venues for the tournament that will be decided in March 2015.
"The strength of the nation will be put to question," Shimazu said during a news conference. "I will do whatever I can."
He appears to have the full backing of Japan Rugby Football Union President Yoshiro Mori, who also heads the Tokyo 2020 Olympic organizing committee.
"We're counting on him to lead everything until the tournament is successfully over," Mori said.