Shortly after he was elected mayor of Osaka earlier this year, Toru Hashimoto announced that one of his first acts in tackling the city's deficit would be to cut municipal bus driver salaries by as much as 40 percent for a savings of ¥200 billion a year. The city employs 700 drivers whose average age is 50 and average annual pay is ¥7.39 million. Hashimoto wants to bring their salaries down to about the same level that bus drivers of private companies make in the region. According to the land ministry, the average pay of bus drivers in Osaka, whether they work for a private company or a public entity, is ¥4.6 million a year. Since Osaka municipal drivers belong to a union, it's assumed Hashimoto has his work cut out for him, but likely he'll make the change he wants gradually, by cutting pay grade increases for newer drivers.

Bus drivers are in the news now because of the accident on the Kanetsu Expressway in which seven passengers died during an overnight charter bus trip from Kanazawa to Tokyo. The driver fell asleep at the wheel and the bus crashed into an overpass wall. Though the driver was arrested for negligence, the accident has brought attention to the stress that long-distance bus drivers contend with every day. Driving a bus, especially in cramped Japan, is a risky occupation since the driver is responsible for passengers' lives, but salaries don't necessarily reflect that risk. Municipal bus drivers tend to make the most, but they almost never drive long monotonous distances that can cause drowsiness.

According to a blog that solicits readers about their salaries, municipal drivers and highway route drivers who work for major transportation companies make the most money, around ¥7 million, followed by route bus drivers who work for private companies. They make between ¥5.5 million and ¥6 million, or less depending on the region. The lowest pay is earned by charter tour bus drivers, like the one who had the accident on the Kanetsu. One 50-year-old who posted on the blog said he made ¥4.8 million a year, while a 29-year-old charter driver said he makes only ¥2.4 million.