The three candidates for the Democratic Party of Japan's presidential election made their final appeals to the public Friday in Tokyo, concluding 14 days of stumping that took them through 14 cities across the country.
The election will be held today.
The three men -- incumbent party leader Naoto Kan, Deputy Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama and executive council chief Takahiro Yokomichi -- delivered their last speeches on the streets of Tokyo's Yurakucho district Friday evening.
Attempting to brush aside media speculation that the three-way race may eventually break up the nation's largest opposition party, the trio pledged to strengthen party solidarity after the election.
"I first promise that I will play any role I am given (if I am defeated in the election) -- catcher, left field, even ball collector," said Kan, comparing party slots to baseball positions.
The votes will be cast today by 146 DPJ Diet members, 94 local chapter representatives and 81 candidates for the next Lower House election who are not incumbent Diet members, at the Tokyo Prince Hotel.
According to party forecasts and media reports, Hatoyama is leading the race ahead of Kan.
Sources in the Hatoyama camp said they have already secured somewhere between 140 and 150 of the 321 possible votes, but that a number of voters are still undecided.
If Hatoyama fails to win a majority, the runoff that would immediately follow would be unpredictable, party sources agreed.
Most supporters of Yokomichi, who is reportedly in last place, would vote for Kan in a runoff to beat Hatoyama, they predicted.
Kan is regarded as a middle-of-the-road liberal democrat whose policies have more in common with Yokomichi's than those of Hatoyama, who is widely regarded as a conservative liberal.