Koichi Kato's revolt against Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori has fueled growing sentiment within the Liberal Democratic Party that the unpopular Mori should step down to avert a crisis that could severely split the ruling party.

How the LDP turmoil will be resolved remains unclear, but it appears certain that none of the players in the political game of chicken will survive unscathed. Even if the party elders decide to sack Mori, it does not mean Kato would be their next leader of choice.

Kato, a 61-year-old former LDP secretary general and currently head of the party's No. 2 faction, has burned his bridges by intensifying his anti-Mori pitch, warning he may back a no-confidence motion against the prime minister that the opposition camp has threatened to submit sometime toward the Dec. 1 close of the current Diet session.