Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga has been elected leader of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party(LDP) by an overwhelming majority, paving the way for him to become the country's 99th prime minister in a parliamentary vote on Wednesday.

In the leadership election held Monday, the 71-year-old and long-time ally of outgoing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, won 377 out of 534 available votes.

Other contenders, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, garnered 68 and 89 votes, respectively.

As the ruling LDP holds a majority in the Diet, Suga's election as the next prime minister is widely expected in the Wednesday vote.

Japan will have its first new leader in nearly eight years since Abe took office at the end of 2012. He announced he would step down for health reasons last month.