Former Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiroku Kajiyama has decided to run for the Liberal Democratic Party presidency to succeed Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and will announce his candidacy as early as today, LDP members said Thursday.

Kajiyama's anticipated bid to seek the ruling party's top position has exposed a rift within the LDP's largest faction, headed by Foreign Minister Keizo Obuchi and to which he belongs. The faction opted Wednesday to field Obuchi as its presidential candidate.

Meanwhile, the LDP decided that an election by party members to pick the new leader will be held July 24, instead of July 21 as earlier planned.