Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker Shigefumi Matsuzawa said Thursday he no longer plans to run in his party's upcoming presidential election.
Matsuzawa's decision may spur candidates Seiji Maehara, Yoshihiko Noda and Takashi Kawamura, representing a younger generation of lawmakers in the party, to narrow down their number to just one candidate.
"To win the election, it is a must to select one candidate from the younger generation of lawmakers," Matsuzawa said. "To realize this goal, I decided to withdraw from the race."
Matsuzawa said he will support Noda, whom he said shares a similar policy on security and education.
Matsuzawa said he decided to withdraw from the race after learning how difficult it is to gather the support of 20 party members, the necessary number for his candidacy.
Among the remaining three, Maehara and Noda are believed able to obtain support from 20 party members by Sept. 9, when the election kicks off.
The DPJ presidential race is scheduled for Sept. 23. Other candidates are party leader Yukio Hatoyama, Secretary General Naoto Kan and Takahiro Yokomichi, former vice president.