TOKYO Taro Aso took charge as Japans new prime minister Wednesday, lining up his cabinet with like-minded conservatives to help his mission to revive the economy and win upcoming elections.

The divided parliament voted along party lines to install the flamboyant former foreign minister, who was expected to fly a day later to New York for the UN General Assembly.

Aso bowed four times and shook hands with fellow lawmakers after the more powerful lower house approved him.

`When I look at the financial situation and other things, I feel like were in a turbulent period -- not in peacetime,` Aso told reporters before the vote, referring to the crisis over bad debts hitting global markets. `Frankly speaking, I am once again feeling the gravity of my responsibilities.` Aso replaced Yasuo Fukuda, a mild centrist whose ratings dived after he raised medical costs for the elderly.

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) picked Aso on Monday as its new leader by an overwhelming majority, placing its trust in a crowd-pleasing -- though gaffe-prone - campaigner.

Analysts expect him to call a general election as early as late October in a bid to hold off gains by the rising opposition, which has pounded away at the LDPs traditional strongholds in the countryside.