rewarding merit
Almost exclusively used in the set phrase 信賞必罰 (しんしょうひつばつ), meaning 'rewarding merit and punishing offenses'. Rarely appears alone in modern Japanese.
See also: 信賞必罰
The 信賞 in 信賞必罰 refers to the principle of reliably rewarding according to merit.
rewards and punishments; strict enforcement of merit-based rewards and penalties
A Sino-Japanese compound of 信 (trust, certainty) and 賞 (reward, praise), literally 'certain reward'. The exact historical derivation is uncertain; it is now fossilized in the compound 信賞必罰.