Veteran Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Koichi Kato, who was once widely seen as a future prime minister, returned Thursday to an LDP faction to which he had previously belonged.
"On my own, I have thought about what politics should be," the 65-year-old House of Representatives member told a meeting of faction members. "But from now on, I would like to engage in political activities together (with others), with a resolve to return to the frontline."
Kato has been critical of some of the policies pursued by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, particularly Japan's support for the U.S.-led war in Iraq.
Kato, a former LDP secretary general, headed the faction until his aborted bid in November 2000 to oust then Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori. After this failed rebellion, Kato lost much of his political influence.