Amid the prolonged economic slump, the Diet has enacted an amendment to extend for one year a 10 percent pay cut for lawmakers.
The measure, approved by the House of Councilors on Wednesday, extended the cut in Diet members' monthly salaries from 1.375 million yen to 1.237 million yen for one more year beginning this month.
The cut was originally intended to run until the end of last month.
The House of Representatives passed the measure Tuesday in a unanimous vote and sent it to the Upper House, where it was approved in a majority vote.
The ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party, New Komeito and New Conservative Party proposed the measure last year after taking into account the economic slump and the severe employment and wage situation for workers.
In the last fiscal year, which ended Monday, the salary cut reduced government payments to Lower House members by about 1.13 billion yen and Upper House members by some 584 million yen.