VIDEO: Support For Opposition Grows - Japan Survey

The news agency did not give any reason for the difference in voting and support figures for the party among the respondents.

Slightly more voters plan to cast ballots for Japan's main opposition party than its ruling rival, a survey showed on Friday, just days before the selection of a new prime minister who is expected to call an election soon.

Asked whom they would vote for in the next election for parliament's lower house, 31 percent of respondents to the Jiji news agency survey said they would vote for the main opposition Democratic Party, while 29 percent opted for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). The news agency gave no margin of error.

Former foreign minister Taro Aso is widely expected to win an LDP leadership contest on Monday to replace outgoing Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, who suddenly quit this month.

The victor in the party poll is virtually certain to become premier because of the LDP's majority in the lower house, paving the way for the formation of a new cabinet around Wednesday.

The new leader is expected to call an election for the lower house to take advantage of an anticipated bounce in popularity ratings, although no poll need be held until September 2009.

In a sign that voters may be ambivalent, the Jiji poll also showed that only 13 percent backed the Democrats against 21 percent who favoured the LDP, which has ruled Japan for most of the past half-century.

The news agency did not give any reason for the difference in voting and support figures for the party among the respondents.

Aso, who favours spending and tax cuts to revive Japan's faltering the faltering economy over reining in its huge public debt, on Friday said passing a planned supplementary budget to help consumers and firms cope with high prices was top priority.

He also denied media reports that the election would be held on Oct. 26. "Among the five candidates, I don't believe anyone has talked about Oct. 26," he told a news conference. "I don't think we can carelessly talk about dissolving parliament."

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Economics Minister Kaoru Yosano, a dark horse candidate in the leadership race, said global financial turmoil would be another factor in deciding the election timing.

"Until last week, we had to look at the political and economic situation in Japan to judge when to dissolve the lower house," he told the same news conference. "From this week, global financial markets must also be taken into consideration."

The new cabinet lineup could be an important factor in determining public support for the next prime minister ahead of the expected general election.

The Nikkei newspaper reported on Friday without citing sources that Aso was considering keeping Yosano, a fiscal reformer, in his cabinet to unite the LDP.

Aso's ally and staunch conservative Shoichi Nakagawa, who has often been critical of China, is being floated as a candidate for foreign minister, as is Shinzo Abe, another conservative who suddenly resigned as prime minister last year, the Nikkei added.

Former defence minister Shigeru Ishiba, another contender for prime minister, may also get a cabinet post.

Farm Minister Seiichi Ota offered to quit on Friday because of a scandal involving tainted rice, a move seen aimed at quelling public anger over government handling of the food scare.

Japan's government compiled an economic package last month to help cushion the economy from the fallout of high oil prices, but the urgency for action has increased amid a meltdown on Wall Street that has hit markets globally.