A bill to offer public assistance to victims of natural disasters passed the Diet on Friday with the support of all non-Communist parties.

Enactment of the measure means public financial aid will be granted to survivors of disasters, including earthquakes and floods, for the first time.

Under the new legislation, prompted by survivors of the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake and their supporters, up to 1 million yen in public assistance will be provided to people whose houses are destroyed by natural disasters, beginning in April 1999.