Tokyo - Manoeuvres by Japan's ruling coalition to topple the unpopular Prime Minister, Mr Yoshiro Mori, shifted to secret back-room meetings yesterday as speculation persisted that he would be forced to resign soon.
But as difficult as it is for Mr Mori to keep a grip on power, so is finding someone to become Japan's ninth prime minister in 10 years.
Politicians in Mr Mori's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) want to oust him as head of the world's secondrichest nation because they fear a rout in elections for the upper house in late July if he stays in the job.
