Former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi tried to stand out from those widely seen as the front-runners of the Liberal Democratic Party’s upcoming leadership vote in announcing his formal entry into the race Tuesday.

Often seen as the hope of LDP conservatives, Kobayashi underscored his commitment to a “moderate conservatism” in what appeared to be an attempt to appeal to larger swaths of party supporters outside conservative circles.

“I won’t discard existing systems under the guise of reform,” Kobayashi, 50, told a news conference in Tokyo, adding that reform shouldn’t come at the expense of drastic societal change.

“Rather, I seek progress within order and I promise to remain open and to listen carefully to opinions different from my own,” he said.

This moderate conservatism, together with a clear vision and a strong willingness to realize that vision, is what distinguishes him from other potential candidates, Kobayashi said.

His remarks appear to be an attempt at setting himself apart from another former economic security minister, Sanae Takaichi, propped up by the party’s most conservative wing, and agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi, who has long cast himself as a reform-oriented maverick.

Pitching his second attempt at the party leadership, Kobayashi pledged to make Japan a tech powerhouse again, boost defense spending and push through a generational change in the LDP if elected party chief.

”We may bill this leadership election as a fresh start, but traces of the old LDP still linger,” Kobayashi said. “At this rate, the party will never change. This might be the very last presidential election for the party.”

While Kobayashi supported Takaichi’s first bid for the presidency in 2021, he joined the 2024 race himself, essentially splitting the conservative vote. A similar fracture is expected to happen again.

In his first try last September, Kobayashi ranked fifth out of nine candidates, gaining some support among the party’s parliamentarians but failing to make a breakthrough with its grassroots base. Low popularity with the public at large remains one of his biggest challenges.

Since then, he has been one of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s most vocal critics — all while slowly laying the foundation for another bid for the party’s leadership.

Late last year, he set up his own study group to garner support across former faction lines.

Some younger lawmakers who supported his 2024 campaign were among the most frequent attendees, together with veterans such as Yasukazu Hamada, chairman of the LDP’s Lower House steering committee, and Junichi Ishii, the party’s parliamentary affairs chief in the Upper House. Both hail from Chiba constituencies.

A former official at the Finance Ministry with a distinguished pedigree, Kobayashi has represented Chiba’s No. 2 constituency in the Lower House since 2012. In 2021, he was hand-picked as the country’s first economic security minister during the administration of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Meanwhile, another repeat contender for the position, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, also formally announced his intention to run Tuesday.

“I feel a great desire to put all of my experience and achievements to work for this country,” Hayashi told reporters, adding that the campaign won’t interfere with his current Cabinet duties.

Meanwhile, Koizumi, who voiced his resolve to join the race in a meeting with his constituents last weekend, confirmed his intention to run in a separate news conference Tuesday.

Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato, another contender in 2024, will spearhead Koizumi’s campaign effort, he also revealed. Koizumi is seen as one of the front-runners in the race.

Takaichi is also slated to hold a news conference and formally announce her third attempt at the party leadership.

The race is scheduled to kick off on Sept. 22 with the final vote on Oct. 4.