Former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi will announce on Monday his candidacy in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election in September, sources said Saturday.
Kobayashi, 49, has support from middle-ranking and young lawmakers from the LDP faction once led by the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and those not affiliated with any party factions.
"I will listen to the voices of my colleagues and make my own decision," he said during his visit to Tsubame, Niigata Prefecture, on Saturday.