Central Govt Civil Servants’ Pay Set to Rise, Match Large Private Firms; Aims to Stem Brain Drain

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:20 JST, July 26, 2025

The National Personnel Authority plans to review the salaries of civil servants working at the central government, with the goal of aligning them with the pay scales of large private companies employing 1,000 or more people, it announced Friday.

This new standard is expected to take effect in fiscal 2025, likely resulting in a recommended pay raise for these civil servants exceeding the 2.76% increase seen in fiscal 2024, according to the authority.

This move, which is based on a proposal from an expert panel in March, aims to stop the exodus of civil servants and ensure that talent can be acquired going forward.

Every year, the authority issues a recommendation on how national civil servants’ salaries should change to keep them in line with private sector pay levels.

Previously, the salaries of central government employees were compared to those of companies with 500 or more employees. Starting in fiscal 2025, however, this comparison will shift to companies with 1,000 or more employees.

Since private sector salary levels generally correlate with company size, the introduction of this new standard is expected to boost salaries across the board.

The authority will apply this new standard when formulating its recommendation in August to determine the precise percentage increase in salaries.