Tokyo, Sep 23 (IANS): Japan's former Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda was elected the new leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ) on Monday, beating the other three candidates including lawmaker Yukio Edano who founded the party.

As none of the contenders secured a majority of votes in the first round, the race went into a run-off between Noda and Edano, with the former winning the final contest.

Noda, 67, served as Japan's Prime Minister from 2011 to 2012 under the now-defunct Democratic Party, Xinhua news agency reported.

In a speech before the final round of voting, Noda outlined his vision of expanding essential public services, such as education, healthcare, elderly care and disability support, while stressing the importance of restoring public trust in politics.

The race came ahead of the leadership election of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Sept. 27, and the CDPJ was gearing up efforts to secure more seats in a possible general election as it seeks to challenge the long-dominant LDP.