Jun Azumi, a former parliamentary affairs chief for the ruling Democratic Party, will become Japan's new finance minister, Fuji TV reported, after new Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's first choice for the job reportedly turned it down.

Azumi will take charge of Japan's currency and fiscal policies at a time when the world's third-biggest economy grapples with the yen's sharp appreciation and a public debt twice the size of its $5 trillion economy.

Katsuya Okada, a fiscal hawk who held the party's No.2 post, turned down Noda's request to take over the crucial financial portfolio, public broadcaster NHK reported earlier.

(Reporting by Yoko Kubota; Editing by Chris Gallagher)

Japan