The average income of Japanese lawmakers rose by ¥3.74 million ($23,000) to ¥25.3 million in 2023 from the previous year, the first rise in five years, both chambers of parliament said Monday.
The rise was mainly due to lawmakers receiving the full amount of their salaries again, at ¥1,294,000 a month, after a 20% pay cut during the COVID-19 pandemic ended in July 2022.
The number of lawmakers with an annual income of over ¥100 million increased to seven in 2023 from two in the previous year.
The seven were all from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. The list was topped by Kenji Nakanishi, a member of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament, at ¥746.79 million. His income was boosted by dividends and capital gains from his shareholdings.
He was followed by Lower House members Jiro Hatoyama and Masayoshi Shintani, with income of ¥417.01 million and ¥131.81 million, respectively.
The tally covered 454 Lower House lawmakers and 240 members of the House of Councilors, the upper chamber, who held their seats throughout 2023.
By party, the LDP had the highest average income for the seventh consecutive year, at ¥28.11 million. Sanseito, which only has one parliamentary member, came in second, at ¥26.48 million.
The Democratic Party for the People came in third, with an average income of ¥23.67 million, followed by Nippon Ishin no Kai, at ¥23.12 million, and the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, at ¥22.47 million.
The Lower House had an average income of ¥26.42 million and the Upper House ¥23.19 million.
Members of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s Cabinet had an average income of ¥29.46 million, with economic revitalization minister Yoshitaka Shindo being the highest earner, at ¥53.60 million. Kishida was third, with ¥38.75 million.