Average salary bonuses this summer rose 3.1 percent from a year earlier to ¥370,550, marking the fastest pace of growth in 23 years, the labor ministry said Wednesday.
It was the second consecutive year of gain in summer bonuses and the largest percentage increase since 1991, when payments rose 6.3 percent to ¥453,127, according to a study by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry.
The figures only cover companies with at least five employees.
A ministry official attributed the increase to the improvement in companies' earnings.
By sector, manufacturers paid an average of ¥521,785, up 10.5 percent, while the construction industry paid ¥393,283, up 10.0 percent. Bonuses paid by the real estate and leasing sector rose 11.8 percent to ¥449,279.
The ministry's related data for the month of September showed that average wages at firms with five or more employees rose 0.5 percent to ¥242,211 for the fourth consecutive month of growth.
Wages for regular employees rose 0.7 percent while those for temporary and part-time workers fell 0.3 percent.
Total pay, including overtime wages, rose 0.8 percent to ¥266,595 for the month, but it fell 2.9 percent on an inflation-adjusted basis.