Naoto Kan, incumbent leader of the Democratic Party of Japan, secured endorsements from more than 20 DPJ lawmakers Friday and met supporters to prepare for the party's presidential race.
Kan, facing an uphill battle against two other candidates, struggled to secure the 20 nominations required to stand for the Sept. 25 election.
"We've managed to reach this point (in the race) although there was a big hurdle," said Junsuke Iwata, a senior DPJ member and secretary general for Kan's election campaign team.
Kan met with 23 lawmakers and seven legislator's representatives in the office of a Diet member in Tokyo's Nagata-cho district.
"In this very severe situation, I feel overwhelmed seeing the faces of each one of you," Kan said in a speech during the meeting.
Kan's arbitrary decision-making style in managing the party has drawn criticism from some party members, many of whom have deserted him and thrown their support behind two other candidates -- Deputy Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama and Executive Council chief Takahiro Yokomichi.
During his speech, Kan admitted that he may not have listened enough to the opinions of his fellow party members, saying his ratio of speaking to listening was about 70-to-30.
"From now on, I want to make my mouth account for 30 percent and my ears 70 percent," Kan pledged.
Those Kan supporters attending Friday's meeting included Upper House member Satsuki Eda, who will represent Kan's election campaign office; Yukio Edano, a Lower House member; and Kiyoshi Imai, an Upper House member in charge of Kan's election policy platform.
The formal election campaign starts today, as Kan, Hatoyama and Yokomichi are expected to file their candidacies this afternoon.