Actor Takuro Tatsumi has been asked again by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to run in next month's Osaka gubernatorial election, sources familiar with the situation said Sunday.

A senior member of the party headed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met with the 60-year-old Osaka native, who has appeared in dramas and entertainment shows, in Tokyo on Friday and formally made the request, according to the sources.

Tatsumi is expected to decide within days whether to enter the race, which will take place at the same time as the nationwide round of local elections on April 7.