The government said Friday it will fully carry out a 2.03 percent monthly wage cut for national government employees this fiscal year, as recommended by the National Personnel Authority.
It will be the first time the government has cut monthly pay for its employees under the authority's recommendation system, which was started in 1948, government officials said.
The government will submit related bills to the Diet next month.
End-of-term bonuses and a performance-based portion of the employees' pay will be reduced by 0.05 month to 4.65 months in line with the recommendation. The cuts in total annual salary will average about 150,000 yen.
It will be the fourth straight year that end-of-term bonuses and performance-based pay, as well as annual income, falls from year-earlier levels.
As monthly salaries paid before the enforcement of the related law cannot be cut retroactively, the balance will be reduced from the end-of-term bonuses in December, the officials said.
Because the rate cut was above the 1.66 percent regular wage hike, government workers will receive annual wages lower than those the previous fiscal year.
The government also decided to request that municipalities cut salaries for local public servants if their pay levels exceed those of national government employees or private-sector workers, they said.
It plans to submit related bills to the Diet early next year to lower retirement allowances for national government employees to levels similar to those in the private sector, they added.