Guardian: "Japan's Naoto Kan survives no-confidence vote"

The Japanese prime minister, Naoto Kan, has comfortably survived a no-confidence motion after offering to resign as soon as plans forJapan's recovery from the tsunami and nuclear crisis are in place.

MPs in the 480-seat lower house of Japan's parliament voted down the motion on Thursday afternoon by 293 votes to 152.

By offering to quit, possibly in the autumn, Kan, whose handling of the post-tsunami recovery and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident has drawn criticism from opposition parties, has bought himself a few more months in office.

The move will enable him to oversee the operation to stabilise the nuclear plant – which is expected to take several months – and to secure emergency funding for the reconstruction of the country's battered north-east coast.