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The Yomiuri Shimbun Yoshihiko Noda, forth from left, cheers on party members after he was elected to new leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan in Tokyo on Monday.
The Japan News
15:40 JST, September 23, 2024 (updated at 18:30 JST)
Former Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda was elected as leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan in a runoff vote on Monday at the CDPJ’s extraordinary convention in Tokyo.
“I will work seriously to take power from the Liberal Democratic Party,” Noda, 67, said at the convention after his election. “Let’s strive as a whole party to take the reins of government.”
Noda said he plans to decide on a framework for the party’s new leadership on Tuesday.
Noda won the runoff over former CDPJ President Yukio Edano, 60. The former prime minister earned 232 ballot points while Edano collected 180 points.
“I’m not sure what will happen, but I want to hold sincere talks with other opposition parties,” Noda said when asked about cooperation with other parties at a press conference later on Monday.
Regarding the coming House of Representatives election, Noda said, “[The goal is that] the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito will become a minority [in the lower house], while the number of seats held by opposition parties will be maximized.”
After serving in the Chiba prefectural assembly, Noda was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1993 from a now defunct multiple-seat constituency in the prefecture. Noda lost his seat in the 1996 lower house election but returned to the Diet in 2000.
He has since served eight consecutive terms in the lower house from a single-seat constituency in Chiba Prefecture.
He became prime minister in September 2011 when the now defunct Democratic Party of Japan was in power. Noda served as prime minister until December 2012, when the DPJ was defeated in a general election.
The runoff took place because none of the four candidates earned a majority in the initial vote. Noda received 267 points and Edano 206 points in the first vote, while outgoing CDPJ President Kenta Izumi, 50, collected 143 points and House of Representatives member Harumi Yoshida, 52, gained 122 points.
The election was called because Izumi’s term of office expires at end of September. Noda’s term as CDPJ president is set to run through the end of September 2027.
