Keidanren is likely to allow employers to raise basic pay at next year's spring annual labor-management wage talks, sources said.

The nation's biggest business lobby is expected to "not deny basic pay hikes" and leave the decision on whether to do so to individual companies in a policy report to be decided in mid-January, the sources said Tuesday.

Aiming to beat deflation, the government is expecting businesses to raise basic pay and is considering urging them to do so in an agreement with representatives of business groups and labor unions to be reached at a meeting Friday.

In its policy report for last year's spring wage talks, Keidanren said there was no room for basic pay hikes.

At a similar meeting in September, Keidanren said it "will make its contribution so that an economic virtuous cycle will be achieved as soon as possible through wage hikes" on the back of the economic recovery.

Next year's spring wage talks will effectively start in late January when the chairman of Keidanren and president of Rengo (the Japanese Trade Union Confederation), will meet.

In February, labor unions of major companies will submit their demand to employers, which will give responses in March.