Actor and former Tokyo Gov. Yukio Aoshima expressed his intention Saturday to run for the House of Councilors in July, saying he wants to do something to surprise the public.

Aoshima, 71, said he has yet to make a final decision but revealed his hope to make a political comeback as he greeted the audience at an opening day showing of the movie "Shinibana" ("Glorious Death") in Tokyo.

Playing one of the main characters in the film about a group of elderly people plotting to rob a bank, Aoshima said the movie inspired him to consider running again for public office.

A former television scriptwriter and on-screen personality, Aoshima was first elected to the Upper House in 1968. During his fifth term in April 1995, he gave up his Diet seat to run in the Tokyo gubernatorial election as an independent and won.

He served a four-year term as governor but did not run for re-election in 1999. He ran unsuccessfully for the Upper House in July 2001.