Japanese legislators taking salary cut

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TOKYO, March 28 (UPI) -- Japan will cut 3 million yen ($37,000) from each lawmaker's pay to raise funds for disaster relief, political parties said Monday.

The governing Democratic Party of Japan agreed on the move with the opposition Liberal Democrats and New Komeito, Parliament members told Kyodo News. They will urge other parties to join in and pass the necessary legislation soon.

The plan would cut 500,000 yen ($6,100) from each Diet member's salary for six months, raising 2 billion yen ($24.5 million) to support the reconstruction of northeastern Japan following the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident.

The plan will translate into an annual pay cut of about 14 percent.