Lawmakers’ Average Income Falls to ¥21.5 Million

Jiji Press

10:30 JST, July 4, 2023

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — The average income of lawmakers fell ¥990,000 from the previous year to ¥21.56 million in 2022, down for the fourth straight year, reports by Japan’s two Diet chambers showed Monday.

By party, the average was highest at the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Only two lawmakers, both from the LDP, earned more than ¥100 million in income.

The average across the Diet decreased after the previous year’s top earner, who posted over ¥1 billion, left office as a House of Councillors lawmaker without running in the latest upper house election last year.

Another reason was a 20% cut in parliament members’ salaries implemented as the country fell into the COVID-19 crisis. The measure stayed in place until the end of July 2022.

At the LDP, the average income was ¥22.82 million. The Democratic Party for the People in the opposition side came second at ¥21.42 million, followed by Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party) at ¥20.89 million and the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan at ¥20.41 million.

In the House of Representatives, the all-important lower chamber, the average income stood at ¥22.15 million, while that of the upper house was ¥20.16 million.

The top earner among Diet members was LDP lower house lawmaker Kenji Nakanishi at ¥147.3 million. His income was boosted by dividends from his shareholdings.

He was followed by LDP lower house members Tadahiko Ito and Ichiro Aisawa, who logged ¥120.03 million and ¥96.89 million, respectively.