Tokyo ( CNN ) -- Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan faces a no-confidence vote in parliament on Thursday , a major political setback that could cost him his leadership position . The opposition Liberal Democratic Party filed a no-confidence motion Wednesday , and needs a total of 240 votes for it to pass in parliament . It cited his handling of the March 11 earthquake , tsunami and ensuing nuclear crisis as a reason for the motion . Opposition members need 80 votes from Kan 's party , the Democratic Party of Japan . So far , at least 50 members of his party say they will vote for the no-confidence motion . If the no-confidence vote passes , Kan would be forced to step down within 10 days . A devastating tsunami struck Japan 's Pacific coast after the massive earthquake in March , triggering the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl as the cores of reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant overheated and spewed radioactive chemicals . Kan , who was unpopular before the disaster , has come under fire as the nation battles to contain the nuclear and economic woes . Adding on to the problems , ratings agency Moody 's Investors Service placed the country 's local and foreign currency bond ratings on review for possible downgrade . Political in-fighting remains a problem in Japan , which has seen six prime ministers in the past five years . Last year , after only a few months in office , his main political opponent within his own party attempted to take control of the Democratic Party of Japan , effectively taking over the premiership . Kan managed to hold onto the title of party leader . Kan 's one-year anniversary in office is June 8 . CNN 's Junko Ogura and Yoko Wakatsuki contributed to this report .
NEW : The opposition cites his handling of the March 11 disaster . The motion needs 240 votes to pass . Comment: