Top officials from the two coalition partners of the Liberal Democratic Party remained noncommittal Sunday about whether they would support embattled Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori once the fiscal 2001 budget clears the Diet.
LDP Secretary General Makoto Koga and his counterparts from New Komeito and the New Conservative Party -- Tetsuzo Fuyushiba and Takeshi Noda -- confirmed in an NHK TV program Sunday morning that the coalition's top priority is to have the Diet approve the budget before the new fiscal year begins on April 1.
However, when Koga said the coalition should continue to support Mori, who is under increasing pressure to step down, even from within the coalition, Fuyushiba and Noda kept their distance.