Kansei Nakano, a top-ranking member of the Democratic Party of Japan, officially announced Friday that he will run for head of the main opposition party next month, the eighth person to join the race.

Speaking at an inaugural meeting in the Diet building of the newly created group that will act as his campaign team, Nakano, 61, one of the party's four deputy chiefs, said, "I will run in this election with determination, even if I have to toughen myself up."

About 52 lawmakers from the House of Representatives and House of Councilors attended the meeting.

At a news conference later, Nakano emphasized that he would "definitely run" and said he does not believe he can win a simple majority in the first count, given the number of candidates, but that a runoff vote could be possible.

In the event of a runoff in the Sept. 23 election, Nakano said it is possible he could form an alliance with another candidate.

Nakano, who represents Osaka Prefecture's No. 8 district, has been elected nine times to the Lower House and has been policy chief of the DPJ.

Meanwhile, younger party members failed Friday to reach a consensus on a candidate in a meeting at the Diet building. The four vying for the party leadership are Seiji Maehara, 40, Yoshihiko Noda, 45, Shigefumi Matsuzawa, 44, and Takashi Kawamura, 53.

Sources close to the four said they will hold final talks Aug. 20 and decide whether to present one candidate or fight it out separately in their respective camps.

Other contenders for the leadership include current DPJ chief Yukio Hatoyama, 55, and Naoto Kan, 55, the party's secretary general.