Mori support plummets in polls

TOKYO, Japan -- Support for Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori is dipping to levels fatal to previous leaders, a new poll shows.

The beleaguered Mori faces mounting speculation he may be forced to resign next month and will be in for more attacks after a senior member of his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) said Japan was not to blame for its entry into World War Two.

The senior lawmaker said Sunday that Japan had been forced into action by the United States.

The remarks by Hosei Norota were expected to inflame countries across Asia that were invaded by Japan's Imperial Army in the 1930s and 1940s and to worsen the problems of the embattled prime minister.

Japan 'fell prey' to US scheme

"Faced with oil and other embargoes from other countries, Japan had no choice but to venture out southward to secure natural resources," Norota was quoted as telling a meeting of LDP supporters.

"In other words, Japan had fallen prey to a scheme of the United States. This is what many historians are saying," he added, which recalled the stance of Japanese militarists in the 1930s to justify their invasion of much of Asia.

Opposition parties were expected to pounce on the remarks as further ammunition with which to attack Mori and his LDP in parliament later in the day.

Waning popularity

Mori already faces the biggest crisis of his 10-month rule amid mounting speculation that he will have to resign next month.

A mere 8.4 percent of those responding to a poll released on Sunday by private broadcaster Asahi Television said they still supported Mori, a level that past premiers have found impossible to survive.

More than 77 percent of voters polled said they wanted Mori, under fire for a string of gaffes and scandals and a nagging golf habit, to quit soon.

The question of who will run Japan comes amid growing concern over the nation's faltering economy and tense ties with the United States after a U.S. submarine sank a Japanese trawler off Hawaii, leaving nine missing.

Remarks may anger neighbors

In his speech, Norota also called the war The Greater East Asia War, a term that sparks anger among Japanese for its militarist overtones from the wartime government.

Norota's remarks were likely to anger neighbors South Korea and China which were occupied by Japan for several decades during the 20th century.

Japan's armies also invaded Southeast Asia as Japan pursued its expansionist ambitions by saying it wanted to set up what it called the Greater Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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