The bonus payments dished out Friday to the majority of public servants across Japan were more than 10 percent higher than the reduced bonuses these workers got last year.

The average payment to a 34.5-year-old central government employee in a nonmanagerial administrative post was about 676,000 yen, up 10.1 percent from a year earlier.

The average bonus for a 35.7-year-old local government employee was about 649,000 yen, up 13.3 percent.

The annual bonus paid to central government employees equaled 4.4 months' salary, as it did last year.

The sharp rise this winter was mainly attributed to the fact that the National Personnel Authority cut last year's winter bonus for central and local government employees.

According to bonus data released by the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Supreme Court Chief Justice Akira Machida each received a bonus of 6.03 million yen.

State ministers were paid about 4.40 million yen each, while the bonuses of ministers who have only been in their posts since the Cabinet reshuffle in September were cut accordingly.

House of Representatives Speaker Yohei Kono and House of Councilors President Chikage Ogi got 5.11 million yen each.

Members of both Diet chambers received about 3.05 million yen each.

Vice ministers of government ministries and agencies were paid about 3.52 million yen, while directors general of bureaus received about 2.68 million yen.