Former Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura has decided to run in the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election on Sept. 20, challenging Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, sources close to his faction said Sunday.
Komura's candidacy comes as Koizumi appears to be leading the race because anti-Koizumi forces have so far failed to field a strong single challenger.
Komura, who heads a small faction in the LDP, will join an array of other anti-Koizumi contenders, including former LDP policy chief Shizuka Kamei, former Transport Minister Takao Fujii and Takashi Sasagawa, the LDP's deputy secretary general.