[0] Hashimoto hints Mori should resign before LDP convention.

Former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, who is now state minister in charge of administrative reform, on Tuesday suggested that Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori should step down ahead of the Liberal Democratic Party convention on March 11.

At a press conference, Hashimoto said demands for Mori's resignation have been mounting from LDP members of prefectural and other assemblies around the nation.

"It is an extremely severe situation (for Mori). Since we will hold an LDP convention in the near future, the LDP (executives) should decide how to run the convention after taking heed of these opinions."

Within the LDP, former International Trade and Industry …