Defense Agency Director General Fukushiro Nukaga is considering running in the Sept. 20 election for the Liberal Democratic Party presidency, a post that likely carries with it the prime ministership, sources said Friday.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe, who has not yet declared his candidacy, is regarded as the front-runner to win the LDP helm, but the Nukaga camp feels that if the defense chief comes in second place, that will elevate the clout of his party faction.
Mikio Aoki, chairman of the LDP's Upper House caucus and the most influential supporter for Nukaga, has told the defense chief he is willing to help him run for the LDP helm, but only if all of the Lower House members in the faction to which both he and Nukaga belong stand united to this end, the sources said.