A new law offering relief to Minamata disease patients cleared the Lower House on July 3, a day after the ruling and opposition camps officially agreed to loosen the eligibility requirements for patients seeking compensation.

The bill broadens the scope for the first time since 1995, when the government decided to compensate over 10,000 formerly unacknowledged patients.

The legislation, one of the key bills Prime Minister Taro Aso hopes to get passed during the current Diet session, will offer compensation to patients with numbness in the hands and feet, or other sensory impairments of the body, mouth and tongue, as well as restricted vision.

Of the estimated 30,000 people currently seeking relief, about 20,000 are expected to be eligible for some form of compensation.