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The Diet on Friday enacted into law a set of bills to hike medical expenses for salaried workers and the elderly.

The package of bills is one of several key pieces of legislation Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was determined to see passed by the end of the current Diet session, which finishes Wednesday.

The final vote, taken at a plenary session of the House of Councilors, was boycotted by major opposition parties in the wake of a clash between the ruling and opposition camps at an Upper House committee on Thursday. Resistance to the plan has been stiff, even from within Koizumi's own Liberal Democratic Party.

The prime minister threw his weight behind the legislation, which includes raising the outpatient treatment costs shouldered by salaried workers to 30 percent from the current 20 percent.

The changes for the elderly take effect in October, and those for salaried workers in April.

The prime minister needed to have the medical reform bills passed to maintain some credibility as a reformer, as there has been little progress in other areas. The bills had already cleared the House of Representatives.

"The hike is a necessary step to help sustain the public health insurance system," Koizumi told reporters at the Prime Minister's Official Residence after the vote. "If the entire system goes bankrupt, it would be more painful than the increase."

During Diet deliberations, Koizumi said repeatedly he would raise the quality of medical treatment and reduce excesses in the system in return for the hike.

Opposition parties are expected to submit a no-confidence motion against the Koizumi Cabinet as early as Monday. But the motion is expected to be voted down by the majority of the ruling camp, which comprises the LDP, New Komeito and the New Conservative Party.

The Democratic Party of Japan, the Liberal Party, the Social Democratic Party and the Japanese Communist Party skipped the vote on Friday, claiming that Thursday's vote was invalid.

Thursday's health committee session was thrown into confusion when the ruling camp rammed the bills through the committee.

In response, the opposition camp threatened to submit several nonbinding censure motions against key government and chamber members, including Koizumi, in an attempt to delay voting in the plenary session as long as possible.

However, the opposition parties gave up as they were split over its submission.

"We could have submitted motions demanding the resignations (of committee chairmen) but we gave priority to maintaining unity among the opposition parties and skipped the vote instead," DPJ Secretary General Naoto Kan told a regular news conference.

Among other key legislation submitted to the current Diet session, postal deregulation bills have been enacted while controversial bills on handling emergency contingencies and protecting personal data are expected to be carried over to the next session.

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