New Komeito secures tripartite nod on pay cut

April 18, 2012: The ruling Democratic Party of Japan and its two main political opponents, the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito, have agree to trim 5.4 million yen in expenses paid to parliamentary members over a two-year period starting from May 2012. The resulting savings—which will yield over 3.9 billion yen—will be reallocated to support the national initiative to rebuild areas devastated by the March 11, 2011 quake and tsunami.

New Komeito was the principal architect and agent in securing the tripartite agreement. The pay cut will apply to members of both houses of parliament.

The party originally called for a 20% reduction in annual expenses, or 8.4 million yen over two years. But due to calls to include the 3 million yen paring that lawmakers had previously accepted in April 2011, New Komeito agreed on a final figure of 5.4 million yen. Last year’s reduction was also a New Komeito initiative.

In February, New Komeito Chief Representative Natsuo Yamaguchi told reporters that his party would be seeking to the pay cut permanent.