Shinichi Takehara, mayor of Akune, Kagoshima Prefecture, was ousted by lawmakers after criticizing bureaucrats' pay, saying most earned more than three times the average salary of the city's 24,000 citizens.
Assembly members in the seaside city voted 11 to 5 late Friday to remove Takehara, 50, from office. Takehara in February said in his blog the salaries were too high and sapped the city's budget.
"The mayor has damaged Akune's reputation, and we can't continue under his leadership," said Takayuki Kinoshita, a lawmaker who supported the no-confidence vote.