Corporate Japan is running out of excuses in the face of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's calls for wage rises of 3 percent or more.

The nation is having its best run of economic growth in a decade, stocks prices are the highest in 26 years, and corporate profits are near an all-time high. At the same time, the labor market, which is already the tightest among major economies, is only set to get tighter as the nation's population both shrivels and ages rapidly.

And as annual negotiations with labor unions start to ramp up, there are signs that some big companies may be bending as Abe pushes for increases of 3 percent or more, though others are still expected to drag their feet.