House of Councilors member Takeshi Kondo on Friday officially accepted Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's request to give up his Diet seat and take the helm of the debt-ridden Japan Highway Public Corp.

Kondo, 62, met with with Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Nobuteru Ishihara and top officials of the ministry in the evening.

"I told (the minister) that I would humbly accept" the job offer, Kondo told reporters after the one-hour meeting.

He said he would submit his resignation from the Upper House on Monday.

Koizumi spoke to Kondo via telephone during the meeting and asked him help carry out the scheduled privatization of the semigovernmental entity in 2005.

Kondo said he would try to reform the mind-set of Japan Highway workers in the lead up to the entity's privatization. He also said he would meet with Japan Highway executives as soon as possible to hear their opinions on the matter.

Ishihara expressed relief and said he appreciates Kondo's decision to give up his political career to undertake the task of "unprecedented reform."

He said Kondo's international experience as a former managing director of Itochu Corp. and his sense of private-sector management would greatly help in the privatization of the heavily indebted body.

Japan Highway's top spot has been vacant since Oct. 24, when Ishihara sacked then president Haruho Fujii, who was considered an obstacle to privatization efforts.

Koizumi and Ishihara had initially planned to select a candidate from the private sector.

But no one has dared to take up the job following the turmoil over the entity's balance sheet dispute. Fujii has charged that his dismissal was politically motivated and indicated he might take legal action to have the decision invalidated.