"For the First Time in 23 Years" Tokyo Civil Servants Welcome 10 Million KRW Winter Bonus

Prime Minister Takaichi Receives 3.41 Million Yen
National Civil Servants' Winter Bonus Rises for Fourth Consecutive Year
Tokyo Metropolitan Government Surpasses 1 Million Yen

Japanese civil servants received their "winter bonuses" this year.

The Asia Business Daily Database

On December 10, Japanese media outlets including Kyodo News and Asahi Shimbun reported, "Today, national and local government officials received their winter bonuses (year-end and diligence allowances)."

The average payment for administrative national civil servants, excluding those in managerial positions, was 702,000 yen (663,000 KRW). The government has submitted a bill to the National Diet to revise the salary law to increase the bonus, and if the bill passes, the total amount, including additional payments, will rise to 746,000 yen (704,000 KRW). This is a 3.3% increase compared to last year's winter bonus, marking the fourth consecutive year of increases.

Sanae Takaichi, Prime Minister of Japan, will receive 3.97 million yen (3,746,000 KRW). Since Prime Minister Takaichi took office in October and has served for a short period, this was reflected in the calculation. She voluntarily returned part of her winter bonus, so her final amount received is 3.41 million yen (3,218,000 KRW).

The highest payment goes to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court at 5.94 million yen (5,606,000 KRW). The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Speaker of the House of Councillors each received 5.35 million yen (5,049,000 KRW), while other lawmakers received 3.19 million yen (3,010,000 KRW). Administrative Vice Ministers received 3.35 million yen (3,161,000 KRW), and bureau directors received 2.55 million yen (2,406,000 KRW).

Sanae Takaichi, Prime Minister of Japan, is attending the first session of the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit held at Gyeongju HICO (HICO) on the 31st. Photo by Yonhap News

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Average Bonus Nearly 9.89 Million KRW... Other Local Governments Also in the 8 Million KRW Range

There are local governments where the average winter bonus payment is close to 10 million KRW. The average payment in the Tokyo Metropolitan Government increased by about 75,000 yen from last year to 1,048,000 yen (989,000 KRW). This is the first time in 23 years, since 2002, that the amount has exceeded 1 million yen. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government explained that this reflects the trend of rising private sector wages. The recipients include about 168,000 people, including police, firefighters, and teachers, with the total payment amounting to 176.7 billion yen (1.6677 trillion KRW).

Shizuoka Prefecture also paid winter bonuses on this day. The average payment for general employees was 899,000 yen (848,000 KRW), a 3% decrease from the previous year. This decrease is due to an adjustment in the number of months for summer and winter bonus payments, resulting in a lower winter bonus. If the ordinance to increase salaries is passed by the prefectural assembly, the amount is expected to increase compared to the previous year.

Shizuoka Prefectural Police received 918,000 yen (966,000 KRW), teachers received 937,000 yen (884,000 KRW), and the total payment was 30.7 billion yen (28,974,660,000 KRW), a 4% decrease.

For special positions, the increase was frozen due to worsening finances. Shizuoka Governor Yasutomo Suzuki received 3.37 million yen (3,180,000 KRW), and the Vice Governor received 2.75 million yen (2,595,000 KRW).

In Okayama Prefecture, the average winter bonus payment for general employees, including teachers and police officers, decreased by 18,700 yen (180,000 KRW) from the previous year to 750,000 yen (826,000 KRW). The number of recipients was 21,166, and the total payment was 18,521,153,000 yen (174,802,640,000 KRW).

For special positions, Okayama Governor Ryuta Ibaragi received 3,307,000 yen (3,121,000 KRW), and the Vice Governor received 2,615,000 yen (2,468,000 KRW). If the ordinance reflecting the pay raise recommendation of the personnel committee is approved by the assembly, the average payment for general employees will be raised to 919,800 yen (868,000 KRW), and the governor's payment will be increased to 3,403,000 yen (3,212,000 KRW).

The timing of bonus payments for Japanese civil servants is stipulated by laws and ordinances. For national civil servants, according to the National Personnel Authority regulations, the summer bonus is paid on June 30 each year, and the winter bonus is paid on December 10. For local government employees, the timing is set by each local government ordinance, but most follow the national standard, with summer bonuses paid in late June and winter bonuses paid around December 10.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.