CHICHIBU, Saitama Prefecture--To win the mayor's race here in recent years, candidates have pledged to slash their pay by increasing amounts. 

Incumbent Atsushi Kitabori has reduced his salary by 90 percent after winning the election in April. He has been working on a monthly salary of about 90,000 yen ($818) since July.

Kitabori came up with the strategy to counter his political rival, a former mayor who cut his own salary by 50 percent for eight years.

But it has ignited controversy over how citizens can benefit from a race centered around slashing the mayor's salary, which if continued, could result in the incumbent receiving no pay at all.

"I thought if I were going to reduce it, I might as well cut it by 90 percent or so. That was because a 50-percent cut has become a normal practice around the country," Kitabori said in an interview with The Asahi Shimbun in mid-July.

PREDECESSOR’S 50% CUT

In recent years, Chichibu's mayoral elections have seen incumbents edged out by newcomers who pledged pay cuts.

The 50-percent pay cut was one of ex-Mayor Kuniyasu Kuki's campaign pledges for the 2009 election when the economy was sluggish after the collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers, which sparked a global financial crisis.

He was elected over the then-incumbent on his third try.

"The economy in town was declining, and I hoped that the 50-percent reduction would help circulate money to those in need, even if only slightly," Kuki told The Asahi Shimbun.

However, he stopped the pay cut in 2017 during his third term.

"Even though I cut my salary, the rest would be incorporated into the general expenditure account, so I never met anyone in need who appreciated my effort or said their lives had improved," Kuki recalled. "It was also difficult for me to continue the 50-percent cut because I had to offer cash from my own pocket when I attended funerals and weddings."

Kitabori, who lost to Kuki in the previous two elections, promised to slash his monthly salary by 90 percent as one of his campaign pledges for the election held in April amid the pandemic.

He played up the promise in the upper left corner of his campaign ad, saying: "I'll cut my salary by 90 percent."

Kitabori gained 14,812 votes, 296 ahead of Kuki. He became the first newcomer in 12 years to win the election on his third try with a campaign pledge to cut his salary, just like Kuki did.

Asked whether the promise affected the outcome of the election, Kitabori said: "I don't know. The figure of 90 percent sparked controversy even among members of my support group."

Meanwhile, according to a city assembly member close to Kuki's campaign team, some said the 90-percent cut was reckless while many others praised Kitabori's decision.

"I think it was quite possible that this pledge turned the outcome around," the assembly member said.

FAR TOO LITTLE COMPENSATION

The draft ordinance for the pay cut caused a furor during the assembly's regular session in June.

Several assembly members argued that the proposal was preposterous and that it was outrageous and unprecedented.

But Kitabori said he wanted to offer support for struggling citizens and overcome the difficult times together while the pandemic ravaged the economy.

Although Atsuo Hikima, head of the mayor's office, admitted that the mayor would be left with far too little compensation for his work, he added: "It was solely his own political decision."

Many assembly members who were at odds with Kitabori during the election race accepted the draft proposal, saying it was the mayor himself who promised the pay cut and won his seat.

On June 22, the sixth day of the assembly's regular session, the ordinance was approved by a 17 to 4 vote.

Beginning from July, Mayor Kitabori has been receiving a monthly salary of 88,000 yen, one-10th of his full salary of 880,000 yen.

His annual salary including bonuses is 1,520,640 yen, meaning that his total annual income was slashed by about 13.69 million yen.

APPEAL TO POPULISM?

Meanwhile, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike has cut her own monthly salary in half to about 730,000 yen as part of her "painful reforms."

Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura has reduced his monthly salary by 30 percent to earn about 1.06 million yen.

To help cover expenses for COVID-19-related countermeasures, Kagoshima Mayor Takao Shimozuru decided to cut his monthly salary in half to about 580,000 yen for one year beginning from April this year, while Fukuoka Mayor Soichiro Takashima gave up his summer bonus of about 3.47 million yen handed out in June last year.

However, Muneyuki Shindo, a professor emeritus at Chiba University well-versed in local autonomy, said a salary reduction of 90 percent or the monthly salary of 88,000 yen is "previously unheard of" and "outrageous."

"I think it's unfaithful to voters and democracy to make campaign pledges that are shocking and can be seen as a form of populism," he said.

Chichibu is a city with a population of about 60,000 and its general account budget for fiscal 2021 is 28.5 billion yen.

"Even if the mayor's salary, which totals about 15 million yen a year, is reduced to zero, it wouldn't be of much help for the municipal administration as a whole," Shindo continued. "It is more important to make clear your intentions and policies on what you want to do for the city and appeal to voters."

In the interview, Kitabori said it was never his intention to appeal to populism, although he admitted he played up the pledge in his campaign ad.

"I don't remember promoting the 90-percent cut in my street speeches during my campaign," he said. "I'll leave the rest up to you all."

Kitabori, who runs a "ryokan" inn with his family in the city, also said he doesn't see any problem in living on a monthly salary of under 90,000 yen.

But as for continuing the 90-percent reduction, he added, "I want it to end when the coronavirus pandemic settles down."