Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan is set to step down by the end of August as Japan continues to grapple with its ongoing nuclear crisis following the March earthquake and tsunami. Kan is expected to resign in late August after securing parliamentary passage of the second extra budget and a bill needed for the government to issue deficit-covering bonds for fiscal 2011. The governing Democratic Party has extended the Parliamentary session by 70 days. The Democratic Party of Japan, which is headed by the premier, and major opposition parties including the Liberal Democratic Party agreed on the resignation date after several weeks of discussions. In June, Kan survived a no-confidence vote for his mishandling of the post-quake nuclear crisis after promising he would hand over power to younger generation. The magnitude 9 earthquake struck on March 11, triggering a devastating tsunami along Japan's north eastern coast. At that time, it was expected Mr Kan's resignation announcement was likely within days.