A showdown that may oust Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and split the ruling Liberal Democratic Party will come Monday, when the House of Representatives votes on a no-confidence motion against his Cabinet.
Officials of the four major opposition parties announced Friday they will jointly submit the no-confidence motion to the Lower House on Monday afternoon, prior to the scheduled approval of a supplementary budget by the Lower House Budget Committee.
LDP leaders rose to the challenge -- and to the threat posed by Koichi Kato and other LDP members who plan to support the motion -- by saying the ruling camp will open the Lower House plenary session Monday evening to vote on the motion.