Tarō Asō
Former finance minister Sadakazu Tanigaki announced on 13 September 2009 he would stand in the election. Tanigaki had also been a candidate in the 2006 leadership election, where he came in third place behind Shinzō Abe and Tarō Asō. Yasutoshi Nishimura and Tarō Kōno (son of former LDP leader Yōhei Kōno) are the other two announced candidates.