Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori is expected to express his intention to resign today, a senior official of the LDP's largest faction said Friday.

It was not immediately clear exactly when and how Mori would make the announcement. However, any comments by the wildly unpopular prime minister are expected to be vague, since a clear-cut announcement could hinder Diet deliberations on the fiscal 2001 budget and confuse Japan's diplomatic agenda.

Mori is scheduled to go to Russia later this month to talk with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Officially, however, the government is denying Mori is ready to make any such declaration. "There's no such likelihood," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said.

Mori's aides at his official residence did not rule out the possibility of Mori meeting senior members of the ruling coalition today but denied he will announce his resignation during the talks.

LDP Secretary General Makoto Koga also toed the company line.

"I have not heard such a thing at all," he said.

Already some reports on an expected announcement have proved false. Friday morning, several newspapers reported that Mori may express his intention to step down that same day to put an end to the political confusion over the issue. When asked to comment on the reports, Mori said, "I can't tell you such a thing here, can I?"

The burly prime minister has been facing calls from his ruling bloc to state his intention to quit before Tuesday, when the Liberal Democratic Party convention will be held.

While he has repeatedly denied he plans to resign, LDP officials have said he is prepared to step down soon after the fiscal 2001 budget clears the Diet later this month or in early April.

Although LDP executives initially considered asking Mori to state his intention to quit at a Monday meeting of the government and the coalition parties, that option was ruled out Friday when the LDP canceled the meeting.

Another option was to make the announcement at a gathering of secretaries general of the ruling party's local chapters, also on Monday, but that is unlikely since Mori has decided not to attend the meeting.

Intense pressure to step down is being stoked by ruling bloc lawmakers who are worried they will take a beating in July's House of Councilors election if the little-liked leader stays in office. Mori's support ratings, at 40 percent when he took office in April, have plunged to below 10 percent in recent surveys.

He sparked fresh outrage last month for continuing a golf game after being informed that a U.S. Navy submarine had accidentally sunk a Japanese fisheries training ship. Nine Japanese from the Ehime Maru remain missing and are presumed dead.