Prime Minister Naoto Kan will likely have to decide whether to call a general election or to resign as early as next month as his popularity continues to plummet.

Sixteen Lower House members of his Democratic Party of Japan have openly revolted against him; he has so far failed to win cooperation from part of the opposition forces to get important budget-related bills through the Diet; and his ally, Seiji Maehara, has stepped down as foreign minister for receiving contributions from an illegal source.

Shizuka Kamei, head of the People's New Party, the junior partner in Kan's coalition government, has gone so far as to predict that Kan is incapable of dissolving the Lower House and calling a general election because he has become "immobilized." If Kamei is right, the final countdown for Kan's resignation may start as early as next month.