The Supreme Court decided Wednesday to cut retirement allowances for its 15 justices by about two-thirds. It will be the first reduction since 1966.

The top court also decided to reform the pay system for the 3,200 judges nationwide, following the government's reform of its pay structure for regular bureaucrats in line with recommendations by the National Personnel Authority.

The Justice Ministry is planning to submit bills to revise relevant legislation to the Diet during the current legislative session. The changes are to be introduced in April.

Currently, a Supreme Court justice who served for five years receives 52 million yen in retirement allowances. This figure would be reduced to 19 million yen.

The pay reform is designed to cut judges' salaries and reallocate the resources as special allowances depending on their work location. The allowances are higher for those working in urban areas, where private-sector salaries are relatively high. For judges working in rural areas, however, the new system would in effect reduce their salaries and lead to widening the gap in pay levels between regions.

The Constitution stipulates that judges' salaries cannot be reduced during their terms of office, but the top court approved a monthly reduction in 2002 following a recommendation by the personnel authority.

After the personnel authority made its annual recommendations in August, judges raised objections to widening the gap between regions and the Japan Federation of Bar Associations has proposed setting up an independent entity to discuss the pay system.