A government panel of representatives from academic and business sectors will call for a sharp hike in the minimum wage to boost nominal gross domestic product to ¥600 trillion within five years, sources close to the matter said Tuesday.
At Wednesday's meeting of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy, the group was also set to call for measures to boost the productivity of small and medium-size firms and thereby help them to raise wages.
Other measures include exploring ways to support elderly people on low pensions. Such suggestions will be discussed in preparation for an emergency stimulus package that the government plans to compile this month.
In their proposals, the four members will call for lifting the minimum wage faster than an average ¥18 increase this year, which itself was the largest ever, the sources said.
They will also point to the need for companies to increase base pay and bonuses by a margin matching a 3 percent gain in nominal economic growth needed to realize the government's GDP goals.
Meanwhile, the members will urge the state to slash corporate tax to below 30 percent next fiscal year, the sources said.
The government has pledged to reduce corporate income tax from the current rate of 32.11 percent in stages. It is relatively high by international standards, and reducing it would help companies compete better globally.
At last week's council meeting, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe instructed ministers to compile new economic stimulus measures to attain the government's GDP goals.
The goal for fiscal 2020 represents an expansion of more than 20 percent on the ¥491 trillion in fiscal 2014, but some economists doubt that will be achieved.