In line with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's campaign to break the grip of deflation through aggressive economic policies, business leaders on Tuesday called on companies to hike wages.
"We have asked member companies to raise wages to realize a virtuous cycle of the economy," Keidanren Chairman Hiromasa Yonekura said at a news conference at a Tokyo hotel attended by the heads of two other business lobbies.
Yonekura said a positive cycle, with improved earnings, capital spending, expanded employment and finally wage hikes, will lead to further consumption and economic recovery.