By Yoshifumi Takemoto
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan will appoint career bureaucrat Toshihide Endo as its top financial regulator within the month, a person briefed on the matter told Reuters on Friday, in a move widely expected to see the continuation of reforms to the country's financial sector.
Endo, 59, currently director-general of the watchdog's supervisory bureau, will succeed Financial Services Agency (FSA) Commissioner Nobuchika Mori, who in his three-year stint has pushed through reforms designed to boost investor faith in Japan's stock market and stimulate the flow of funds through its economy.
Since 2015 Endo has overseen the country's financial firms at the FSA's supervisory bureau, and previously ran its inspection bureau. Endo joined the finance ministry in 1982, where he held various positions before entering the FSA in 2002.
When contacted by Reuters, an FSA spokesman declined to comment.
Under Mori's leadership, the FSA has introduced corporate governance reforms designed to make the Japanese market more attractive to investors, from boosting the number of external board directors to urging more vocal engagement by investors.
Mori has held the financial industry partly responsible for the vast amount of household money sitting idle in bank deposits, and criticized investment professionals for not working in the best interest of their clients.
FSA sources have said Endo is widely expected to continue Mori's reform agenda.
(Writing and additional reporting by Thomas Wilson and Takahiko Wada; Editing by Jacqueline Wong) OLUSECON Reuters US Online Report Economy 20180706T071314+0000