Japan PM to appoint Yoichi Miyazawa as METI minister - media

Japan's newly-appointed Justice Minister Yoko Kamikawa arrives at Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's official residence in Tokyo October 20, 2014. REUTERS/Yuya Shino

TOKYO (Reuters) - 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. (Reporting by Antoni Slodkowski; Writing by Linda Sieg; Editing by Chris Gallagher)