Beleaguered Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori survived his second no-confidence motion Monday, but his coalition partners wasted no time urging him to step down voluntarily.
The focus now shifts to the timing of Mori's resignation announcement, and speculation is that it will come later this week or early next week, before the party convention on March 13.
The four opposition parties, led by the Democratic Party of Japan, submitted the motion to the Lower House early in the morning. The vote was 192 for and 274 against.