apanese Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda has been elected as the ruling party's leader and he will become the country's sixth prime minister in five years.
Noda defeated Trade Minister Banri Kaieda on Monday in a run-off election 215-177 after none of the five candidates won a majority in the first round, AP reported.
Kaieda became the top vote-getter in the first round, but he failed to win an outright majority of 200 votes.
The 54-year-old Noda will almost certainly become the next prime minister because the ruling Democrats control the more powerful lower house of parliament.
In the run-off, 398 parliamentary members of Democratic Party of Japan voted to choose among five candidates.
Other candidates include former Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara, Agriculture Minister Michihiko Kano and former Transport Minister Sumio Mabuchi.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Friday confirmed his resignation after 15 months in office amid criticisms over his handling of March's earthquake-tsunami disaster and ensuing nuclear accident.
The next premier will inherit a host of daunting challenges, from a sluggish economy to the massive reconstruction after the tsunami and nuclear crisis.
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