The Diet is set to enact new legislation offering financial relief to more victims of Minamata mercury-poisoning in the 1950s and '60s by easing standards of recognition of the disease.
The Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito ruling coalition and the Democratic Party of Japan, the largest opposition force, officially agreed Thursday on details of the bill. The new legislation will be the first broadening of the scope of sufferers entitled to compensation since 1995.
The legislation could also affect the timing of the next general election because it is one of three key bills Prime Minister Taro Aso wants passed in the current Diet session.