The annual salary for the Bank of Japan governor will be lower than that of the prime minister beginning in April.
The change is part of the central bank's plan announced Friday to cut executive salaries and retirement allowances in response to criticism from the Diet. The central bank also released new internal rules prohibiting officials from accepting wining-and-dining offers from financial institutions, a reaction to the recent bribery scandals involving Finance Ministry officials and similar rumors about BOJ officials.
The annual salary for the BOJ governor will be reduced by 22 percent from 51 million yen to 40 million yen. The prime minister and the chief justice of the Supreme Court each receive 45 million yen. The senior deputy governor, the No. 2 man at the BOJ, faces a 15 percent cut in salary to 32 million yen. Annual salaries for other policy board members will be cut by 10 percent while executive directors face a 5 percent cut.