TOKYO (XINHUA) - The policy chief of Japan's main opposition party, Mr Kenta Izumi, announced his bid for leadership on Wednesday (Nov 17).

The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ) will hold the election at the end of November.

Mr Izumi said he will seek to build a society where people can feel safe, and vowed to reform his party after the Oct 31 election failure, expressing his hope of changing the image of the party from negative to a positive one.

"I want to stand in the forefront in reforming the party," Mr Izumi said.

"I will consider what to do by taking into account the number of seats and the situation in each area," he said. "I'm not ruling out any option."

Mr Seiji Osaka, a former prime ministerial special adviser, also announced his candidacy for the party leadership earlier in the day, while Mr Chinami Nishimura, a former senior vice minister of health, labour and welfare, is also expected to do so later in the day.

Former parliamentary vice minister for finance Hiroshi Ogushi and former parliamentary vice minister for internal affairs Junya Ogawa, have also suggested their willingness to run in the race.

The leadership election will be held on Nov 30 as Mr Yukio Edano announced his resignation from the post of CDPJ leader after the party failed to win in the House of Representatives election on Oct 31.

The new party chief will be faced with the task of leading the party into the House of Councillors election next summer.

The CDPJ currently has 96 seats in the 465-member lower chamber, declining from the previous 110 seats despite joint efforts with other opposition parties.

The ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito hold 261 and 32 seats respectively.