TOKYO, Oct 15 (Bernama-Kyodo) -- Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Thursday that she had offered Arata Takebe the post of farm minister, as she seeks to minimise disruption to her governing agenda following the effective dismissal of scandal-hit lawmaker Kazuo Yana from the role, Kyodo News reported.
Takaichi cited the former senior vice farm minister's policy expertise and parliamentary experience in making the selection.
The appointment comes as the government seeks to advance its legislative agenda, including the passage of a bill to temporarily cut the consumption tax, during the 69-day extraordinary Diet session through Dec 12.
Takaichi told reporters at her office that she expected Takebe, a ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker, "will be able to hit the ground running, including in handling Diet affairs."
The prime minister on Wednesday effectively dismissed Yana amid mounting scrutiny of his conduct in his constituency, including suspicions of possible illegality, as opposition parties prepared to submit a censure motion against him in the Senate, where the ruling coalition lacks a majority.
Speaking to reporters separately after meeting the prime minister, Takebe said he intended to draw fully on the experience and knowledge he had accumulated and devote himself wholeheartedly to the job.
Takebe, 56, is a sixth-term House of Representatives lawmaker representing a constituency on Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido.
His father, former lawmaker Tsutomu Takebe, served as farm minister and LDP secretary-general under then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
He served as senior vice-minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries under then Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and previously held the posts of director of the LDP's Agriculture and Forestry Division and chairman of its Research Commission on Fishery Policies.
-- BERNAMA-KYODO