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 increase in five years, both houses of parliament said Monday.
The increase was mainly due to lawmakers returning to receiving the full amount of their salaries, at ¥1,294,000 per month, after a 20% pay cut during the COVID-19 pandemic ended in July 2022.
The number of lawmakers with an annual income of more than ¥100 million increased from two in the previous year to seven in 2023.
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, with ¥746.79 million. His income was increased by dividends and capital gains from his stock holdings.
He was followed by House of Commons members Jiro Hatoyama and Masayoshi Shintani, with incomes of ¥417.01 million and ¥131.81 million, respectively.
The count included 454 lawmakers from the Lower House and 240 members of the House of Councilors, the upper chamber, who retained their seats until 2023.
By party, the LDP had the highest average income for the seventh year in a row, at ¥28.11 million. Sanseito, which has only one member of parliament, came in second with ¥26.48 million.
The People’s Democratic Party came in third, with an average income of ¥23.67 million, followed by Nippon Ishin no Kai, with ¥23.12 million, and the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, with ¥22.47 million.
The average income of the House of Representatives was ¥26.42 million and that of the Senate was ¥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 came third, with ¥38.75 million.
