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Lawmakers' average income flat at ¥25.13 million
The average income of Japanese lawmakers in 2024 stood at ¥25.13 million ($174,679), almost unchanged from the previous year, both chambers of the parliament said Monday.
The top earner among Diet members was Kenji Nakanishi of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party with ¥662.45 million, mostly from capital gains and dividends from his shareholdings.
Four lawmakers earned over ¥100 million, and all of them were LDP members.
The highest income among opposition party lawmakers was ¥87.54 million, earned by Kenko Matsuki of the leading opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan.
By party, the LDP had the highest average income, at ¥28.22 million, followed by the Democratic Party for the People, at ¥24.64 million, Nippon Ishin no Kai, at ¥23.08 million, and the CDP, at ¥21.88 million.
Among the members of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Cabinet, Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato was the top earner, at ¥225.93 million. Kato earned ¥199.31 million from the sale of land inherited from his parents.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi came second, at ¥33.09 million, followed by digital transformation minister Masaaki Taira, at ¥32.86 million. Ishiba, also LDP president, ranked fourth among the Cabinet members with ¥30.41 million.
Ishiba was the top earner among the leaders of eight Japanese political parties, followed by Tetsuo Saito, chief of Komeito, with ¥28.25 million, and Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People, with ¥25.84 million.
The income of Ishiba was pushed up by growth in miscellaneous income, including writing, speaking and television and radio appearance fees, and royalties, according to the reports on lawmakers' incomes for last year.
The average income of lawmakers was ¥26 million for the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, and ¥23.87 million for the House of Councilors, the upper chamber.
The tally covered 339 Lower House lawmakers and 233 Upper House members, who held their seats throughout 2024.
The income of Diet members is disclosed every year under the law on disclosure of lawmakers' assets, which was enacted in 1992.
Supplementary reports, required to declare newly acquired assets, were submitted by 80 Lower House members and 85 Upper House members. Reports listing the names of companies and organizations from which lawmakers received compensation were also released.
