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September 18, 2025
 

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UNIONS

Rengo is mulling over a third term for its president, Tomoko Yoshino.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 4, 2025
Rengo considering third term for leader Tomoko Yoshino
Yoshino's second two-year term as president of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation is set to end in October.
Japanese Trade Union Confederation chief Tomoko Yoshino speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Aug. 21. Under Yoshino, the organization, better known as Rengo, has cooperated with the government to achieve wage increases, but some have raised concerns about those same close ties.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 2, 2025
Tomoko Yoshino's next move in focus as end of second term as Rengo chief nears
Under Yoshino, the organization, better known as Rengo, has cooperated with the government to achieve wage increases. But some have raised concerns about those same close ties.
Mark Hancock, national president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, joins a picket line with striking Air Canada flight attendants at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga, Ontario, on Monday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 19, 2025
Air Canada strike talks resume as flight attendants defy back-to-work order
Canada's national carrier, which flies directly to 180 cities domestically and abroad, said the strike had forced cancellations impacting 500,000 people.
Demonstrators hold placards and flags, as Air Canada flight attendants said they will remain on strike and challenge a return-to-work order they called unconstitutional, defying a government decision to force them back to their duties, at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Sunday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 18, 2025
Striking Air Canada flight attendants defy back-to-work order
The refusal by the union to obey the order left many travelers at Toronto Pearson International Airport confused and frustrated on Sunday afternoon.
Striking Air Canada workers walk the picket line at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Saturday.
BUSINESS
Aug 17, 2025
Canada moves to end Air Canada strike, seeking binding arbitration
Thousands of Air Canada flight attendants walked off the job for the first time since 1985 on Saturday.
Air Canada flight attendants picket outside Toronto Pearson International Airport on Monday.
BUSINESS
Aug 15, 2025
Air Canada and union deadlocked despite government plea for deal to avert Saturday strike
Canada's largest carrier has said it expects to cancel 500 flights by the end of the day.
WNBA All-Stars Caitlin Clark (right) and Kelsey Plum prior to the All-Star Game in Indianapolis on Saturday.
BASKETBALL
Jul 20, 2025
Clark urges more pay for WNBA players as labor talks intensify
Commissioner Cathy Engelbert struck a positive tone with reporters, saying she felt a recent meeting with players had been productive.
Workers at 5,162 companies affiliated with Rengo secured an average wage increase of 5.25% in this year’s negotiations, according to the final update of pay deals announced Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 4, 2025
Japan’s 2025 wage talks conclude with highest gain in 34 years
Workers at 5,162 companies affiliated with Rengo secured an average wage increase of 5.25% in this year’s negotiations.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks at Rengo's May Day event alongside the union's chief, Tomoko Yoshino, on Saturday in Tokyo.
BUSINESS
Apr 26, 2025
Ishiba vows wage hikes that keep up with inflation at May Day event
Ishiba's participation marks the third year in a row for a Japanese prime minister to attend Rengo's May Day event.
The United Steelworkers union headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 23, 2025
Union tells Bessent risks of Nippon Steel deal are too great
The United Steelworkers said the risks cannot be overcome in any scenario in which Nippon Steel exercises influence over U.S. Steel’s decision-making.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Japanese Trade Union Confederation chief Tomoko Yoshino in a meeting Tuesday at the Prime Minister's Office
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 15, 2025
Why Ishiba became the first prime minister to hold talks with Rengo in 16 years
The last time an official meeting was held between a prime minister and Rengo to discuss labor policies was in 2009.
Rengo President Tomoko Yoshino speaks at a Democratic Party for the People convention in Sumida Ward, Tokyo, on Feb. 11.
BUSINESS / WOMEN AT WORK
Apr 6, 2025
Breaking with tradition: From the shop floor to fighting for millions
Tomoko Yoshino has rubbed shoulders with political heavyweights and business leaders as the first female leader of Rengo.
A survey of 12,817 companies by Shinkin Central Bank Research Institute found that only 51% committed to base wage hikes, the think tank announced on Thursday.
BUSINESS
Mar 27, 2025
Japan’s wage growth isn’t as rosy as Rengo’s data indicate
The broader picture for pay trends may not be as rosy as the union group expects, according to one think tank.
Wages are set for another big increase this year as annual negotiations secure generous agreements.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 21, 2025
Japanese wages likely to rise more than 5% again this year
The average wage increase is key for the central bank, which is counting on steady raises as it ends a decadeslong experiment in ultraloose monetary policy.
Novak Djokovic hits a shot during his second round match at Indian Wells in California on March 8.
TENNIS
Mar 19, 2025
Djokovic player union launches legal blitz against governing bodies
Both the ATP and WTA responded by vowing to defend themselves against the claims.
A worker keeps a tally of wages Wednesday in Tokyo at the head office of UA Zensen, Japan's largest industrial trade union that represents workers mostly at small and medium-sized firms.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 14, 2025
Japan’s unions win largest pay hike in more than three decades
Some 760 affiliated unions under the trade union federation Rengo have so far secured an average pay gain of 5.46% in ongoing annual wage negotiations.
An official from the Japan Council of Metalworkers' Unions writes down the results of this year's "shuntō" annual spring labor negotiations on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 12, 2025
Major Japanese companies agree to solid pay and bonus hikes
Toyota, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Hitachi, Fujitsu and NEC are among companies that say they have agreed to their respective labor unions' demands.
Base pay rose by 3.1% in January from a year earlier, the largest advance since October 1992, according to the labor ministry.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 10, 2025
Japan records fastest gains in base pay since 1992, supporting BOJ moves
Data has also highlighted the impact of price growth, with real cash earnings falling 1.8%.
The weighted average of wage hikes demanded by 2,939 member unions of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, or Rengo, in this year's shuntō labor-management negotiations came to 6.09%, a Rengo survey showed Thursday.
BUSINESS
Mar 6, 2025
Japan pay hike demands top 6% for first time in 32 years
It is the first time in 32 years for the average wage hike request to exceed 6%, amid the soaring cost of living and labor shortages.
According to a tally released on Thursday, some 1,416 labor unions under the umbrella of the Japan Council of Metalworkers’ Union requested a monthly base salary gain of ¥14,149 ($94.84) on average in talks expected to culminate with a deal next month.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 27, 2025
Japan's metalworker unions demand record pay hike
The demand by Japan Council of Metalworkers’ Union is an early sign of continued momentum for pay growth in the country.
Wealthy foreign nationals picking up ultimate souvenir — a condo in Tokyo
A high-end property in the fashionable Daikanyama district in Tokyo
Japan dispatches five language education 'partners' to India
Five members of the Japan Foundation's Nihongo Partners program (front) gather at the Japanese Embassy in New Delhi on Monday.
Struggling train firm in Chiba Prefecture turns to self-deprecating humor
"Laughter is important when you're in a difficult situation," said Katsunori Takemoto, president of Choshi Electric Railway, on Aug. 5 in Choshi, Chiba Prefecture.
Over 90% of low-income families in Japan struggling to feed children
Save the Children Japan domestic program chief Sonoko Kawakami speaks at a news conference in Tokyo in July. A survey conducted by the group in June has found that over 90% of low-income households with children face food insecurity.
Japan’s front-line researchers see bright path ahead for dementia treatment
A scientist looks at scans of grains at the Memory Centre at the Department of Readaptation and Geriatrics of the University Hospital (HUG) in Geneva, Switzerland, on June 6, 2023.
Still plenty to fight for, says Japan’s team leader at worlds
Race walker Hayato Katsuki earned bronze for Japan on the opening day of the World Athletics Championships on Saturday.
Wealthy foreign nationals picking up ultimate souvenir — a condo in Tokyo
A high-end property in the fashionable Daikanyama district in Tokyo
Japanese athletes inspired by raucous home fans at World Athletics Championships
Fans cheer on the home favorites during the women's marathon at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Sunday.
Japan's major art events converge this fall
Shinji Ohmaki’s “Tokinokage” exhibited at Fuji Textile Week 2021 shows the use of fabric as art.

Podcast

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Longform

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By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

We are pleased to announce the winners of the 6th annual Sustainable Japan Award.
We are pleased to announce the winners of the 6th annual Sustainable Japan Award.

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