Japan’s former chief cabinet secretary Yasuo Fukuda has been elected chairman of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Sunday and is likely to succeed Shinzo Abe as prime minister.

The 71-year-old politician could be appointed premier Tuesday, when parliament members from the ruling coalition and the opposition are expected to cast their votes. The LDP still controls the lower house and that is enough to elect the party’s leader as premier.

Fukuda claimed a crushing victory in Sunday’s election, receiving 330 votes, while his adversary Taro Aso (LDP Secretary General and former foreign minister) had the support of only 197 party members.

“LDP is facing a very difficult situation at the moment,” Fukuda said after the results were released. “My responsibility is to revive the party, regain Japanese citizens' confidence and steadily proceed with political agenda.”

Now, Fukuda will have the tough mission of continuing the reforms initiated by outgoing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The son of Japan’s former premier Takeo Fukuda will also have to convince opposition members to give their approval for a new law that would permit Japan’s military to continue its mission of assisting coalition warships fighting in Afghanistan.

“Japan needs to send a message with all due respect that it is willing to cooperate as a member of the international community,” Fukuda said referring to the military mission.

The experience politician would certainly face tough challenges and a primary issue will be the rectification of the government’s plummeting popularity, after Shinzo Abe failed to regain the voters’ trust through his policies.

Numerous scandals marked Abe’s tenure and the ruling party’s image received blow after blow. The governing coalition hit rock bottom in July when it lost majority in the upper house following a round of elections and will have a hard time passing legislation.

On September 12 Abe announced he is stepping down, saying he didn’t manage to draw the opposition’s support for Japan’s mission in the Indian Ocean. The next day he was admitted into the hospital due to a gastrointestinal disorder caused by stress and exhaustion.

“I think it (mismanagement of pension payments) is a major problem,” Fukuda said. “It is not only a responsibility of the concerned ministry but the politicians who manage the ministry.”

“I want to build a brighter Japan,” he added.

Fukuda is known to be a skilled diplomat and reiterated that one of his main objectives is to strengthen ties with neighbouring countries and outlined the importance of dialogue with North Korea over its nuclear programme.

He is the longest-serving chief cabinet secretary in Japanese history, serving for more than three years under former premiers Junichiro Koizumi and Yoshiro Mori.