The appointment of former Vice Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare Takeshi Erikawa will likely gain approval from the House of Councillors, which is also controlled by the DPJ and its coalition partners, at its plenary session scheduled for Wednesday.

Following endorsement by the two chambers, the government is expected to name Erikawa to fill the currently vacant post of president of the personnel authority, a body that sets working conditions for national servants and controls other personnel affairs related to them.

The appointment of the former bureaucrat has met with fierce resistance from the opposition camp, which claims that the choice runs counter to the DPJ's policy of eliminating so-called "amakudari," a practice in which retired bureaucrats land well-paid jobs at corporations in sectors that they formerly oversaw.

The government has been in a rush to finalize the appointment of the president, who needs to attend Diet deliberations on a government- proposed bill designed to cut back on wages for public servants before Dec. 1, when their winter bonuses will be assessed.

The authority's president is usually selected from among three commissioners. The post has been vacant since Masahito Tani stepped down from the post in September.

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has sought understanding over the appointment, saying a former bureaucrat would be a vital asset for the government's plan to drastically improve the management of the authority as part of its administrative reform drive.