Tag - wages

 
 

WAGES

The Bank of Japan will decide whether to end its negative interest rate policy at its policy board meeting, which ends on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 18, 2024
BOJ’s Ueda faces decision time on rate hike
With the end of Japan's negative rate being a near certainty, the only question that remains is whether it comes on Tuesday or at the end of April.
Keidanren chief Masakazu Tokura addresses the Liberal Democratic Party's annual convention in Tokyo on Sunday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 17, 2024
Japan business lobby chief hopes for government efforts to end deflation
The BOJ may end negative interest rates at its two-day monetary policy meeting through Tuesday, in what could be the first hike in 17 years.
The results of wage negotiations between companies and labor unions are written on a whiteboard at the office of the Japan Council of Metalworkers' Unions in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 15, 2024
Japan’s labor unions win big pay raises for members
The preliminary figure for the average hike stands at a 33-year high of 5.28%, according to Japan’s largest labor organization.
Results of spring wage negotiations are written on a board at an office of the Japan Council of Metalworkers' Unions in Tokyo's Chuo Ward on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 13, 2024
Major Japanese firms offering solid pay hikes for second year running
Several companies met or even exceeded labor union demands, raising the possibility the Bank of Japan will adjust monetary policy soon.
Zensho Holdings, the operator of Sukiya and other restaurant chains, will raise salaries of regular employees by 12.2% on average.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 12, 2024
Japan firms across sectors offer pay hikes of up to 12% in spring talks
Early wage deals with unions reflect a recovery in earnings from the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as a sense of crisis over labor shortages.
Kazuo Ueda, governor of the Bank of Japan, speaks at a fintech summit in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Mar 8, 2024
Bank of Japan leaning toward exiting negative rates in March
Many BOJ policymakers are closely watching the outcome of big firms' annual wage negotiations with unions on March 13.
A march calling for gender equality in London in 2019. Women are still paid less than men for the same work, but real equality means more than just eliminating wage disparities.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 8, 2024
A zero gender pay gap is the goal. But what happens next?
Eliminating the gender pay gap is vital, but it isn't the be-all and end-all. So much more needs to be done to achieve true equality at work and beyond.
Research from the International Monetary Fund suggests that gains from fully closing the gender gap in labor markets could increase gross domestic product in developing economies by 23% on average.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 8, 2024
The economic power of gender equality
There is ample empirical research demonstrating that gender equality delivers better results for people, for the planet and for profits.
A representative from Honda's labor union submits a demand for spring negotiations to management last month in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 8, 2024
Japan Inc. set to offer bumper pay hikes, paving way for stimulus end
Economists see negotiations resulting in an average increase of around 3.9% in pay for union workers at major firms.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks during a news conference in Sao Paulo in February.
BUSINESS
Mar 7, 2024
BOJ bets swing toward March rate hike
Bets on the March 18-19 meeting are gaining traction.
The average demanded wage increase, including pay-scale hikes and regular raises, stood at ¥17,606 as of Monday, up ¥4,268 from around the same time last year.
BUSINESS
Mar 7, 2024
Japan's average pay hike demands top 5% for first time in 30 years
It is the first time in 30 years for the average to exceed 5%, compared with past final survey results.
The Bank of Japan in January. The BOJ is monitoring wage trends closely for signs of a virtuous cycle linking higher pay with demand-led price gains.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 7, 2024
Japan wage growth beat forecasts in January, in fastest rise since June
The data comes as annual wage negotiations between firms and unions are reaching their climax, with the first results expected next week.
A retail shopping area in Tokyo in February. A recent bout of inflation appears to have cleared the way for Japan to officially end its war on deflation.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 2, 2024
Japanese government may declare official end to deflation
A recent bout of inflation appears to have cleared the way for Japan to officially end its war on deflation.
Japan's unemployment rate fell to 2.4% in January from 2.5% in the previous month, with economists suggesting that the current recession is making firms hesitant to increase job postings.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 1, 2024
Japan’s tight labor market to keep upward pressure on wages
The unemployment rate fell to 2.4% from a revised 2.5% a month earlier, the internal affairs ministry reported Friday.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks during a news conference in Sao Paulo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 1, 2024
BOJ governor says price target not already in sight
Kazuo Ueda played down the significance of Japan’s slide back into a technical recession.
A Rapidus factory construction site in Chitose, Hokkaido, in December
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 21, 2024
Japan’s chip spree aims to kick economy into high gear
The government’s chip strategy aims to triple domestic chip sales to around ¥15 trillion by 2030.
Japan's competitiveness is receding in terms of salaries for IT workers, even disregarding the effects of a weak yen, according to a survey.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 18, 2024
Japan drops to 26th globally in annual pay for IT workers
The fall highlights Japan's lagging wage growth despite the growing global demand for engineers.
The Central Social Insurance Medical Council has adopted a proposal to increase outpatient fees in order to boost the salaries of health care workers.
JAPAN
Feb 15, 2024
Japan to raise outpatient visit fees to increase workers' pay
In order to increase pay for young doctors, nursing staff and pharmacists, basic hospitalization fees and outpatient fees will be raised.
Labor unions at Toyota and other carmakers are seeking record pay increases in this year's spring wage negotiations.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 15, 2024
Major auto firm unions request record pay hikes ahead of annual talks
Whether major automakers fully accept unions' demands for a second consecutive year is set to be in focus after the prime minister called for wage hikes.
A truck transporting a container parked outside a shipping terminal in Yokohama.
JAPAN
Feb 13, 2024
Japan approves bill to improve labor conditions for truck drivers
The revisions intend to tackle a labor shortage in the logistics industry, known as the "2024 problem."

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A statue of "Dragon Ball" character Goku stands outside the offices of Bandai Namco in Tokyo. The figure is now as recognizable as such characters as Mickey Mouse and Spider-Man.
Akira Toriyama's gift to the world