A Japanese weekly magazine reported that Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, whose approval rating dipped over his failure to counter the COVID-19 epidemic, may announce his resignation in late March.

According to the latest edition of Shukan Asahi, the approval rating for the Suga Cabinet has plunged from 65 percent just after taking office in September to 39 percent in December.

Citing a representative of the Prime Minister's Office, the magazine said there is the growing notion that Suga is unlikely to regain public support.

Having succeeded Shinzo Abe following his resignation over health concerns as the leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party(LDP), Suga will have to be reelected party leader to retain his prime ministership, as his current term is set to end in late September.

The current House of Representatives' term will also end on October 21, which means the ruling LDP-Komeito coalition can wait to convene a general election, or Suga can dissolve the Lower House early and call for a snap election.

Facing the COVID-19 crisis and its economic fallout, as well as corruption allegations involving the previous Abe Cabinet, Suga could resign in return for the parliamentary passage of a state budget bill in late March.