The ongoing wage disputes at group plants of Honda and Toyota in coastal Chinese cities may signal a turning point for many Japanese exporters that rely heavily on the country's cheap labor, analysts said.
The backlash in China against the labor imbalance, as well as a growing local worker shortage, will continue to put pressure on large Japanese manufacturers to raise wages, forcing them to rethink their basic strategy in China of taking advantage of cheap labor to remain globally competitive, they said.
"It is possible what has happened may spread to all sectors and to all parts of the country," said Koji Sako, a senior economist who tracks Asia at Mizuho Research Institute Ltd.