In their last appearances ahead of a vote Monday to install a new leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party _ a post that brings with it the prime ministership _ Aso and four other party candidates made emotional pitches to the public, stressing that they will bolster the economy and using air time to bash the opposition.

The race will be decided by the party's members of parliament and representatives of its rank and file nationwide, not by the general public. But the party has used the run-up to the vote as an opportunity to try to rebuild its deteriorating standing and jockey for a better position in upcoming parliamentary elections.

Aso stressed that, with economic uncertainty reverberating around the world, these are not times try out an untested opposition.

"The greatest concern right now is the economy," he told a crowd of supporters outside of Tokyo in a drizzling rain. "America is facing a financial crisis ... we must not allow that to bring us down as well."

The Liberal Democrats have governed Japan for nearly all of the past 53 years. But political gridlock with the opposition has sent the party into a crisis.

The opposition Democratic Party of Japan has been making big gains and took control of the upper house of parliament in elections in July last year. It has since managed to block many of the main policy initiatives of the ruling party, and helped force out Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and his predecessor, Shinzo Abe, in a span of less than two years.

Democratic Party leader Ichiro Ozawa, who was re-elected as his party's leader on Sunday, is now calling strongly for snap elections in the powerful lower house to test the ruling party's mandate. Japanese media have reported the elections could come as early as October.

"The Liberal Democrats have destroyed their own political foundations," Ozawa said. "The country can see that the Liberal Democrats no longer have the ability to govern."

Polls indicate such calls are resonating with the public and the rising pressure could force the ruling party to comply. The elections do not need to be held until next September, but the prime minister has the power to call them at any time.

The abrupt resignation of Fukuda _ he said earlier this month he felt he could not deal with the opposition's uncooperative strategy _ forced the Liberal Democrats to call the vote for the party presidency.

Whoever wins Monday is virtually assured of becoming prime minister when parliament opens on Wednesday because the Liberal Democrats and their junior coalition partner hold a majority in the lower house, which makes the final decision.

Aso, who has led from the start, is running against economic minister Kaoru Yosano, young lawmaker Nobuteru Ishihara and two former defense ministers, Shigeru Ishiba and Yuriko Koike, who is also the first woman to run for the post.

Aso is seen as an important departure from the taciturn and often low-key Yasuo Fukuda, who was reluctant to engage the opposition and had trouble connecting with the public.

Aso is a much more colorful character.

He was on Japan's 1976 Olympic shooting team, would be Japan's first Catholic prime minister, and has made much of his love for comic books.

More importantly, he is seen by the public as a straight talker. The party is hoping that he will generate more support from both within and outside its ranks, while posing an attractive alternative to Ozawa, who is a deft political dealer and was a former Liberal Democratic Party leader before bolting in the 1990s.

Over the past two weeks, Aso has tried to counter critics who say he is too direct. He has reassured the party's conservative base that he will continue to seek a strong alliance with Washington, which has long been a cornerstone of Japanese foreign policy.

Though he has in the past described the rise of China as a threat to Japan, he has gone out of his way recently to stress that relations are good and benefit both sides economically, although he has not backed down from his calls for more transparency regarding China's rapid military growth.

A change in leaders in the Liberal Democratic Party is not expected to ease the standoff with Ozawa's Democratic Party of Japan, however.

The Democrats held a special convention to re-elect Ozawa as their leader Sunday, but in sharp contrast to the ruling party's crowded presidential race, Ozawa ran unopposed.