Tokyo: Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso is facing pressure from his party members to step down ahead of next month's national election.
The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lawmakers submitted 133 signatures urging the party leaders to hold a meeting of party members before Aso dissolves the House of Representatives next week.
Two members of Aso's Cabinet, Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano and Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Shigeru Ishiba, also offered their signatures.
"Now that the signatures have been collected, it is the LDP's responsibility to hold the meeting if the party boasts democratic procedures," Yosano told reporters on Thursday.
But the finance minister, who was reportedly unhappy with Aso's decision to call a general election on August 30, denied some media reports that he pushed Aso to step down during their meeting on Wednesday.