Keidanren, Japan's biggest business lobby, plans to urge major corporations to consider wage increases with "enthusiasm and determination stronger than this year," a draft guideline for the annual wage negotiations showed Monday, signaling its intention to seek pay hikes of over 4%.
The average pay hike at major member firms this year stood at 3.99%, the highest in 31 years. The draft guideline did not include any numerical goals for the increase, but defined 2024 as "an extremely important year to attain sustainable wage growth."
The move comes after Keidanren head Masakazu Tokura in September expressed the expectation that pay hikes exceeding 4% will be seen next year.