The Diet enacted a new law Wednesday that expands relief to victims of Minamata disease by loosening the redress requirements for one of the worst industrial pollution cases in Japanese history.
The legislation, one of the key bills Prime Minister Taro Aso intended to pass this session, broadens the range of patients entitled to receive government relief for the first time since 1995. The law cleared the Lower House on July 3.
According to the Environment Ministry, the new law will offer relief to roughly 20,000 of the 30,000 patients who have applied, although the exact amount of the funds to be distributed has yet to be decided. The Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito ruling bloc has suggested ¥1.5 million per patient; the Democratic Party of Japan is seeking ¥3 million.