The ruling coalition parties on Wednesday submitted a watered-down version of a postal services deregulation bill to the House of Representatives.
The postal legislative package -- the centerpiece of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's administration -- is expected to clear the Lower House as early as Tuesday and be enacted by the end of the month.
The package of four bills has sparked heavy debate between the reform-minded Koizumi and the "resistance forces" within his Liberal Democratic Party.