Japan is discovering that even the tightest labor market in a generation is no quick spur for higher wages.
That's an ominous warning for central banks and governments elsewhere who are grappling with how to translate surging corporate profits into rising salaries, a dynamic that remains missing even as around 75 percent of the globe enjoys an economic upswing.
The Bank of Japan on Tuesday left its massive monetary stimulus program unchanged and lowered its inflation forecasts, blaming in part a deeply entrenched attitude among firms and households that prices won't rise. That's even with an unemployment rate below 3 percent.