Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda is expected to easily defeat three contenders in a ruling party leadership election Friday and hang on as Japan's leader a while longer.

Noda has been prime minister about a year. He's Japan's sixth leader in six years.

He has said he plans to call an election soon, but lately has suggested he intends to stay in office longer to try to finish tasks he set out to accomplish.

Polls show that the ruling Democratic Party of Japan would get crushed in elections if they were held now, and that the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party would come to power.

Vying against Noda in the DPJ president's race are two former farm ministers, Michihiko Kano and Hirotaka Akamatsu, and a former internal affairs minister, Kazuhiro Haraguchi.