Top officials from the two coalition partners of the Liberal Democratic Party remained noncommittal Sunday about whether they would support embattled Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori once the fiscal 2001 budget clears the Diet.

LDP Secretary General Makoto Koga and his counterparts from New Komeito and the New Conservative Party -- Tetsuzo Fuyushiba and Takeshi Noda -- confirmed in an NHK TV program Sunday morning that the coalition's top priority is to have the Diet approve the budget before the new fiscal year begins on April 1.

However, when Koga said the coalition should continue to support Mori, who is under increasing pressure to step down, even from within the coalition, Fuyushiba and Noda kept their distance.

Fuyushiba said he "cannot comment at this stage" about whether New Komeito would continue to support Mori, adding that "it is a matter to be decided by the LDP."

Mori, whose popularity ratings have plunged to new lows amid a continuing series of gaffes and scandals involving his Cabinet members, has come under fresh criticism for his decision to play golf for more than two hours after learning that a Japanese fisheries training ship was accidentally sunk by a U.S. submarine off Hawaii last Friday.

He has also sparked outrage among both ruling and opposition lawmakers for receiving, virtually for free, a 40 million yen membership to a Yokohama golf club from a business executive and neglecting to declare it as a taxable asset.

Fuyushiba said he wants Mori, as the man at Japan's helm, "to act prudently and earnestly so that his behavior will not run counter to public sentiments."

He said he "did not know" whether the coalition should keep Mori at its helm as it prepares for the Upper House election in July and expressed concern that the whole bloc "may go down (together with Mori)."

Noda also hinted that his party may call for Mori's resignation once the budget clears the Diet.

"There naturally should be a discussion of what should be done before the Upper House election," he said.

Word spread Friday that Noda and New Komeito chief Takenori Kanzaki had already agreed Mori should resign once the budget clears the Diet.

There are growing calls from some LDP lawmakers to move the date for a party presidential election, originally scheduled in September, forward so that a new leader can be chosen before the Upper House poll.

In the NHK program, Koga said he is not considering such an option.

Despite the growing anti-Mori calls from within the coalition, no viable candidate to take his place has emerged.

While New Komeito and the New Conservative Party are said to favor former LDP Secretary General Hiromu Nonaka, who has served as a key negotiator with the coalition allies, Nonaka himself has reportedly told close aides he is not interested in being prime minister.

Nonaka seemingly lacks wide support within his own party as he is perceived to be one of the five party heavyweights responsible for letting Mori succeed the late Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi last April in a meeting behind closed doors.

In addition, the 75-year-old Nonaka is unlikely to give the LDP the fresh lift it needs at a time of intensifying criticism.

Aside from Nonaka, two others being mentioned as possible successors for prime minister include Junichiro Koizumi, acting leader of Mori's faction, and former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, a state minister and the leader of the LDP's largest faction.

Hashimoto and Koizumi have had their own share of problems.

Last month, Fukushiro Nukaga, a senior member of the Hashimoto faction, resigned as minister in charge of economic and fiscal policy amid revelations he received 15 million yen in questionable funds from KSD, a scandal-tainted industrial insurance provider.

The outspoken and popular Koizumi, who is widely viewed as a champion of reform, faces the awkward prospect of taking the reins of leadership from his factional boss.