The Liberal Democratic Party fell into further disarray Tuesday, with party executives scrambling to stop the movement to oust Prime Minister Taro Aso from spreading as some LDP lawmakers grew louder in their calls to replace the unpopular party chief ahead of the Lower House election.
LDP heavyweights, including former Secretaries General Tsutomu Takebe and Hidenao Nakagawa, have openly called on Aso to step down so he can be replaced before the Lower House election expected to be held in early or late August.
The LDP-New Komeito ruling coalition is widely seen as fighting a losing battle against the opposition camp, led by the Democratic Party of Japan and has recently lost some key local elections.