Japanese Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Naoto Kan officially voiced intention to run for president of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ).

The move by Kan came after Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama announced his decision to step down.

Kan said he told Hatoyama that he will run for president at a party meeting Friday.

The head of the party assumes Japan's premiership given the predominance of the DPJ-led coalition in the powerful House of Representatives.

New cabinet is expected to be formed on Monday.

Hatoyama is the fourth Japanese prime minister to step down in four years. His departure comes only weeks before a House of Councillors election that is widely expected to be held on July 11. The DPJ needs to win the election to secure a majority in the Diet to enact legislation smoothly.

DPJ swept into power last September to break about half a century's nearly unbroken rule of the Liberal Democratic Party ( LDP).