Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's days are numbered. The latest popularity survey by one vernacular newspaper has found that public trust in his administration has plummeted to 9 percent. Not only the leader of a coalition party but also members of his Liberal Democratic Party are now speaking of the possibility that he will be forced to step down any time.

Indeed, the public no longer seems to have any reason to support the coalition government headed by Mr. Mori. The people are apparently fed up with the endless series of gaffes for which he must be held directly or indirectly responsible. He has failed to show any leadership in dealing with political scandals even if some of them are not of his own making.

His insensitive and lackluster response to the recent collision between a Japanese fisheries training boat and a U.S. nuclear submarine off Hawaii has deprived the public of its last remaining shred of tolerance for Mr. Mori. Now many Japanese, including politicians, seem to fear that with Mr. Mori at the helm Japan will sink. The sad fact, however, is that Japan's current political realities do not offer any promising political leader as a replacement for him.