Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda won the Democratic Party of Japan presidency Monday and will replace Naoto Kan as prime minister, becoming the ruling party's third leader since it swept to power in the historic 2009 general election.
Noda, 54, a known fiscal hawk, is expected to be appointed Japan's seventh prime minister in six years at the Diet on Tuesday after the Kan Cabinet resigns en masse. Although the Upper House is controlled by the Liberal Democratic Party-led opposition camp, the more powerful Lower House, which is in the hands of the DPJ and its small ally, Kokumin Shinto (People's New Party), will have the final say.
Noda defeated trade minister Banri Kaieda in a runoff after winning 215 of the 392 eligible votes cast. Kaieda received 177.