Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori on Tuesday rejected an opposition demand that he step down, despite similar calls from among his Liberal Democratic Party colleagues.
In a Lower House plenary session held to field questions about Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa's speech on the government's extra budget, Mori said he will do his utmost to ensure swift Diet approval of the budget package, adding, "I have no intention of stepping down."
He was responding to Nobutaka Tsutsui of the Democratic Party of Japan, who urged Mori to resign before a no-confidence motion is submitted to the Diet.