The House of Councilors voted unanimously Friday to enact a law to give uniform relief to people who contracted hepatitis C from tainted blood products.

With the passage of the hepatitis C bill, about 1,000 people, including the 207 hepatitis C plaintiffs who sued the government and drugmakers, will receive an apology and compensation from the government.

In a statement issued following the law's enactment, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said: "We must frankly admit the state's responsibility for causing huge harm to the victims and for failing to prevent the harm from spreading. I express my apologies from my heart."