The minimum wage should be left intact in fiscal 2002, an advisory panel to the labor minister proposed Friday.
The Central Minimum Wages Council issued a recommendation to health minister Chikara Sakaguchi that no guideline figures be set for minimum wage hikes in the current fiscal year.
It is the first time the council has failed to recommend guideline figures since the minimum wage system was introduced in 1978.
In fiscal 2001, the panel recommended an average minimum wage increase of 0.68 percent, the lowest hike ever.
The council's latest recommendation will probably put pressure on wages for part-time workers, according to industry analysts.
Panel members said they decided against issuing guideline figures in light of the severe wage situation, in which salaries have generally been stationary or in decline.
In fiscal 2001, the minimum hourly wage in Tokyo, Osaka and Kanagawa prefectures was about 700 yen, while that in Nagano Prefecture was 646 yen.