Mori's position weakens further

Many speculate Mori will step down in March

TOKYO, Japan -- Japan's prime minister is under pressure to step down once more after the nation lost its top-grade sovereign rating.

Public impatience with Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori will be fuelled by the blow to Japan's prestige from a decision by Standard & Poor's to downgrade its sovereign debt rating from the top-notch AAA to AA+.

The rating agency cited Japan's rising debt levels, the sluggish pace of fiscal reforms and budgetary constraints as reasons for the demotion, and gave a thumbs down to Mori's economic policies.

Most cabinet ministers reacted testily to the downgrade saying it was wrong and uncalled-for.

But Mori's top spokesman gave a belated acknowledgement of the need to tackle painful fiscal reforms.

Pressure building up

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda told a news conference that the government needed to work on restoring Japan's finances, which he described as being in a severe situation.

The downgrade will provide ammunition to growing numbers of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) members at grassroots level who are turning on the prime minister after a string of gaffes.

Party members of a local assembly in Chofu, western Tokyo, on Friday called on Mori to step down immediately. On Thursday, LDP local legislators in the central city of Nagoya unanimously adopted a resolution demanding he step down at once.

The opposition is calling for Mori's cabinet to go.

Mori vows to cling on

A no-confidence motion against the prime minister is in the works, a move that could drive a wedge through the three-party ruling coalition if well-timed but would otherwise have only symbolic value. The timing of the motion has yet to be decided.

The New Komeito Party -- the number two partner in the ruling alliance -- has increased its pressure on Mori to resign, fearing it will go down to electoral defeat in July with the LDP if he stays.

Mori has pledged to cling on, vowing to work night and day to restore his image, but speculation is rife that lawmakers in his three-way ruling coalition will force him to step down as early as next month.

Mori has lost three cabinet members over scandals and recently came under fire over his decision to keep playing golf after learning that a U.S. nuclear submarine had hit and sunk a Japanese fisheries training ship carrying high school students.

The accident left nine people missing, now presumed dead.

The Associated Press & Reuters contributed to this report.

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