Business Jul 14, 2021
The ¥28 increase to ¥930 per hour represents the biggest rise since Japan started measuring minimum wages on an hourly basis in fiscal 2002.
Business Jul 11, 2021
Nearly 30% see bonuses fall this summer due to pandemic impact
The percentage of people reporting falling bonuses rose sharply last year to 30.1% and stayed at 27.6% this year, the online survey by Nippon Life Insurance Co. showed.
Business Jul 5, 2021
Pandemic adds to uncertainty around Japan's minimum wage hikes
by Kazuaki Nagata
Suga is aiming to achieve an average ¥1,000 hourly minimum wage as soon as possible, but businesses, citing the coronavirus, are loudly opposing the move.
Business / Economy | FOCUS Jun 10, 2021
Japan pushes higher wages in bid for regional revitalization
A draft of the government's annual economic and fiscal policy guidelines calls for efforts to raise minimum wages, aiming to achieve a national average of ¥1,000 per hour.
Business / Economy | FOCUS Jun 5, 2021
Japan consumers get mixed bag of slow wage growth and forced savings
by Noriyuki Suzuki
Some economists estimate that the pandemic has forced Japanese households to save about ¥13 trillion ($118 billion), or roughly 4% of Japan's annual consumption.
Business Jun 1, 2021
COVID-19 trauma has changed economics — maybe forever
by Matthew Boesler
The 2008 crash triggered a rethink, but the framework in place since the 1980s emerged relatively intact. The pandemic then cast those conventions aside around the world.
Business / Corporate May 27, 2021
SoftBank’s top eight executives made $64 million after record profits
by Pavel Alpeyev
Simon Segars, who heads the company’s chip unit Arm Ltd., topped the list with a $17 million paycheck in the year ended March 31.
Business Apr 29, 2021
Summer bonuses at Japan firms to fall 1%-3% on year due to coronavirus
The decline in summer bonuses per employee, forecast by four think tanks and two security firms, follows a 2.6% fall in winter bonuses.
Business Apr 23, 2021
Suga's push to raise minimum wage faces uphill battle amid pandemic
by Tetsushi Kajimoto
There is stiff opposition to the plan from small and midsize firms worried about their survival, and from ruling party lawmakers fearing a political backlash.
Business / Economy Apr 20, 2021
Government seeks safety guarantee in Japan's digital wage payout plan
A plan for digital salary payments is being pushed by the government to help people avoid touching cash amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Business / Corporate Apr 20, 2021
SoftBank’s $120 million Norway deal taps value of high-cost labor
The Asian giant's investment model in the Nordics suggests a cheap workforce isn’t the competitive parameter it once was.