Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday urged small and medium-size companies to raise wages to fuel economic recovery through expanded consumer spending.
The government agreed with labor and business groups at a meeting Thursday on measures to help small and medium-size firms pass on higher costs to their bigger corporate customers more easily to create room for them to increase wages and salaries.
"I would like to ask small and medium-sized business operators to make utmost efforts to raise wages aimed at expanding a virtuous cycle," Abe said at the meeting, referring to higher salaries hopefully encouraging consumers to spend more.