Japan PM Shinzo Abe to appoint Yoichi Miyazawa as METI minister

TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will appoint Yoichi Miyazawa as new trade and industry minister, Nippon Television Network reported on Monday, after the incumbent resigned over questionable political funds spending by her support groups, followed shortly by the justice minister.

The new head of the powerful Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry ( METI) will be tasked with implementing Abe's policy of restarting nuclear reactors that went offline after the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. A majority of voters, worried about safety, oppose the restarts.

Miyazawa is a lawmaker in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and a nephew of former Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa.