The move comes as a survey by the agency is expected to show that the civil servant pay as of April was lower than the level of the private sector, informed sources said.

Possible options under the recommendation include raising basic salaries or allowances, the sources said.

The recommendation is set to be made in August to the Diet, Japan's parliament, and the cabinet.

The survey is likely to show that the average wage gap between public- and private-sector workers as of April leveled off or shrank from 708 yen, or 0.17 percent, a year before.

The survey was conducted between May 1 and June 16, covering some 12,400 business operators across the country with 50 or more regular workers.

According to a tally by the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, or Rengo, the average pay hike agreed to in this year's "shunto" spring labor-management wage talks came to 1.98 percent, down from 2 percent in 2016. (Jiji Press)