With Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori facing mounting pressure to step down, speculation swirled Tuesday over who will succeed him.

But Cabinet members whose names have been floated as candidates either said it was too early to discuss the question or that they do not believe themselves suitable for the job.

"We are not in a situation in which we should discuss such a topic," said Ryutaro Hashimoto, state minister in charge of administrative reform and a former prime minister. "We want to put into effect the (fiscal 2001) budget by the end of the current fiscal year. We want to do our best so there will be no negative impact on the people's livelihood."

When asked about the sharp fall in public support ratings for Mori's Cabinet, Hashimoto replied, "My position is only to fulfill my role as a member of the Cabinet with all my might."

Chikage Ogi, minister in charge of land, infrastructure and transport, said she believes the media are toying with her name in reports about possible successors.

They "are saying that (political circles are) desperate and reckless (enough to raise her name as a candidate)," said Ogi, who heads the New Conservative Party, one of the Liberal Democratic Party's coalition partners. "I hope they will stop treating me like some toy. I know very well myself whether I have it in me" to become prime minister.

Taro Aso, state minister in charge of economic and fiscal policy, said the LDP has several more suitable candidates. "I am grateful my name has been raised but the LDP is not lacking in human resources," he said.

Aso also said Mori should work hard to ensure the Diet passes the fiscal 2001 budget by March 31, the end of the fiscal year.

"When you think about the state of the economy, not passing the budget within the current fiscal year is out of the question," Aso said. "Prime Minister Mori should work hard until then."

Other -- some say more likely -- candidates for Mori's job are former Health and Welfare Minister Junichiro Koizumi and former LDP Secretary General Hiromu Nonaka.

The opposition has called on its lawmakers to prepare for July's House of Councilors election by bearing in mind that there is a chance that a general election may be held in the near future.

"We do not know when the Lower House could be dissolved for a general election," Yukio Hatoyama, leader of the Democratic Party of Japan, warned DPJ members Tuesday morning.