Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda will appoint Edano as the minister for economy, trade and industry, replacing Yoshio Hachiro, who resigned late Saturday after a series of gaffes, public broadcaster NHK and Jiji Press said.

Edano, 47, a lawyer-turned politician, was chief cabinet secretary in the previous government of Naoto Kan and became known for his tireless press conferences following the disasters.

Hachiro, 63, on Saturday stepped down from the post in an early embarrassment for Noda's government, after describing the no-go zone around the disaster-hit Fukushima nuclear power plant as a "town of death".

He also reportedly joked to a handful of reporters on his return from Fukushima that he would infect them with radiation from his clothing.