A bill to slash national civil servant salaries by an average of 7.8 percent for two years was enacted Wednesday after clearing the opposition-controlled Upper House.
The bill will save about ¥580 billion in the two years from April 1. The savings will be used to finance reconstruction in the Tohoku region, which was severely damaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
It was based on a proposal by the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito, but the ruling Democratic Party of Japan had to support it to get other key bills passed, including the government-sponsored tax hike and a special bill to issue deficit-covering government bonds.