Hatoyama has met with ruling party kingpin

TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama met with a ruling party kingpin on Tuesday as speculation swirled that he might bow to pressure from within his party to resign as his support ratings sink ahead of an election.

Calls have emerged in Hatoyama's Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) for the prime minister to step down after just eight months in the job, to revive the party's chances in the upper house election expected on July 11.