Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan says he will offer to step down once he has fulfilled his responsibilities to deal with the effects of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

National NHK television broadcast the remarks made by Mr. Kan Thursday to a meeting of his Democratic Party of Japan. Dozens of party members have threatened to vote against the prime minister in a no-confidence vote scheduled for parliament later Thursday.

Mr. Kan said he feels that he still has to fulfill his promises to the Japanese people. But he said that once the prospects for dealing with the earthquake become more clear, and he feels that he has fulfilled his responsibilities to a significant degree, he would like to hand over his responsibilities to “the younger generation.”

Recent public opinion polls have shown high levels of dissatisfaction with the government's response to the earthquake, and the resultant nuclear crisis at the Fukushima nuclear plant, which continues to leak radiation almost three months after being struck by a tsunami.