Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori is expected to express his intention to resign today, a senior official of the LDP's largest faction said Friday.
It was not immediately clear exactly when and how Mori would make the announcement. However, any comments by the wildly unpopular prime minister are expected to be vague, since a clear-cut announcement could hinder Diet deliberations on the fiscal 2001 budget and confuse Japan's diplomatic agenda.
Mori is scheduled to go to Russia later this month to talk with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Officially, however, the government is denying Mori is ready to make any such declaration. "There's no such likelihood," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said.