While attending the Matsushita Institute, Noda read household gas meters as a part-time job in his native Chiba Prefecture, partially in order to get to know his future constituents better in preparation for a run for office.

Upon assuming the post of finance minister, Noda, a fiscal conservative, expressed his determination to slash Japan's deficit and rein in gross public debt.

[9][10] During the party caucus making the leadership decision, Noda made a 15-minute speech in which he summarized his political career by comparing himself to dojo loach, a kind of bottom-feeding fish.

[11] Noda told his foreign policy and was said to have close relations with the United States, and stressed the importance of the US-Japan security alliance in August 2011 speech.

[13] As prime minister of Japan, he stated that his position on this issue would follow the standard set by previous administrations, and that he did not wish to alter close relationship with China and South Korea.

In May 2012, nuclear power plants which were sitting idle in the wake of the Fukushima accident were restarted in order to help Japan's immediate demands for energy,[15] despite protests including hundreds of people.

[16] During premiership of Noda, one of his most important initiatives was pursuing the entry of Japan into the negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which he announced on 11 November 2011.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government under Governor Shintaro Ishihara sought to buy the Senkaku Islands, which are claimed by China and Taiwan.

[18] Ishihara wished to build facilities on the islands to more obviously claim them as Japanese territory, a move which the national government under Noda regarded as likely to exacerbate tensions with China.

[20] On 24 August, Noda went on live television and vowed to appeal to the international community to support Japan's claims to sovereignty over islands at the center of separate disputes with South Korea and China.

[21] On 11 September, the Japanese government nationalized its control over Minami-kojima, Kita-kojima, and Uotsuri islands by purchasing them from the Kurihara family for ¥2.05 billion.

[36] In the general election, held on 16 December, the LDP enjoyed a resounding victory under the leadership of Shinzo Abe (former prime minister served from 2006 to 2007), winning an outright majority while the DPJ lost around three-fourths of its seats.

In late August 2024, Noda announced his intention to run in the Constitutional Democratic Party presidential election the following month, challenging the incumbent leader Kenta Izumi.

[42][43][44]After his election, Noda appointed Akira Nagatsuma, Kiyomi Tsujimoto and Hiroshi Ogushi as his deputies, as well as Junya Ogawa as secretary general and Kazuhiko Shigetoku as chairman of the Policy Research Council.

[48] Under Noda's leadership, the CDP made strong gains in the 2024 Japanese general election on October 27, during which the ruling LDP-Komeito coalition was reduced to a minority government.

On 11 November, Noda lost a bid to become prime minister to the LDP's Shigeru Ishiba during an extraordinary session of the Diet.

In an interview with The Washington Post, Noda said he loved watching movies and is a fan of Meryl Streep, who had recently won an Academy Award for her portrayal of the former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady.

The movie follows Thatcher's life and career as she pushed through a series of economic and administrative reforms despite opposition from her countrymen.

Noda also said one of his favorite movies is the 1939 film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, which tells the story of a U.S. senator who single-handedly fights against political corruption.