The incomes of 16 prefectural governors and 5 mayors of large cities fell in 1999 from a year earlier due to government financial problems and scandal-related salary and bonus cuts, according to income declarations released Monday.
The income reports of the governors of 41 of Japan's 47 prefectures and the mayors of 11 of 12 Cabinet-designated cities were released in accordance with local ordinances that stipulate the disclosure of their personal assets and incomes.
The average 1999 income was 23.03 million yen for governors and 24.82 million yen for mayors. Yamanashi Gov. Ken Amano topped the list with an income of 43.74 million yen, consisting of his salary and profits from his land-leasing business.
At 31.75 million yen, Oita Gov. Morihiko Hiramatsu was among leaders who made more than 30 million yen, as was Nagoya Mayor Takehisa Matsubara, who made 32.67 million yen.
Tokushima Gov. Toshio Endo, who reported the highest income in 1998 due to profits from land sales, saw his earnings decrease by 35.29 million yen.
Due to governmental financial problems, Kanagawa Gov. Hiroshi Okazaki had his entire bonus of 8.93 million yen cut, while Kyoto Gov. Teiichi Aramaki suffered a 3.09 million yen bonus cut.
Meanwhile, Kochi Gov. Daijiro Hashimoto saw a 4.66 million yen bonus cut after he took responsibility for an illegal loan scandal involving a senior official in the Kochi Prefectural Government.
The survey did not include local government heads who were elected last year and early this year, such as Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara and Osaka Gov. Fusae Ota. Income declaration regulations require reports only from those who had served as governors or mayors of the group of cities for the full year.