Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi plans to revise the public servant remuneration law to cut her own and cabinet ministers’ pay as part of a push for administrative and fiscal reform.
The proposal is expected to be discussed at a meeting of relevant ministers as early as Tuesday in the Parliament and will also suspend extra allowances currently paid to the Prime Minister and ministers beyond their lawmakers’ salaries.
Currently, the Prime Minister earns 1.152 million Japanese Yen, and ministers earn 489,000 Japanese yen in monthly allowances. However, as part of ongoing cost-cutting measures, they already return 30% and 20% of their salary, respectively.
The Japan Innovation Party (JIP), a coalition partner, supports the move as a sign of reform, while critics like Yuichiro Tamaki of the Democratic Party for the People warn it reflects a deflationary mindset at odds with efforts to raise incomes.
