On Dec. 10, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's winter bonus was 5,692,492 yen this year, and other Cabinet members received 4,155,717 yen. These are huge sums in these harsh economic times.
Among bonus recipients was Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka, who has made headlines in recent months with her diplomacy, her plans to reform the ministry and her tardiness in attending a meeting with a foreign dignitary allegedly because her ring was missing. In her case, however, a sum like 4 million yen may be peanuts since her father, the late Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka, made her family wealthy.
No Cabinet official can escape being grilled in parliamentary debates. In this sense, ministers may think the bonuses being paid to them are not enough remuneration for such a tough job. Under the prevailing circumstances, though, the sums paid to them are very large.