Former Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki said Sept. 13 that he will run for president of the Liberal Democratic Party, which was decimated in last month's general election.

"I have decided to sacrifice myself to revitalize the party," Tanigaki said.

Tanigaki, 64, is the first to reveal he intends to run in the Sept. 28 race.

The election will pick the successor to Taro Aso, who stepped down as party president Sept. 16 just before Yukio Hatoyama, leader of the Democratic Party of Japan, was voted in as prime minister.

Farm minister Shigeru Ishiba and Taro Kono, son of former LDP President Yohei Kono, are possible contenders, although they have yet to reveal their intentions.