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May 17, 2025
 

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WAGES

An official from the Japan Council of Metalworkers' Unions writes on a board the results of this year's shuntō annual spring labor negotiations in March in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 3, 2024
JCM to demand pay-scale hike of ¥12,000 or more in 2025
The organization is aiming to ensure wage increases exceed the rate of inflation.
Rengo President Tomoko Yoshino speaks at the organization's central committee meeting in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 28, 2024
Rengo to demand wage hike of 6% or more for smaller firms in 2025
Rengo set a higher goal for small and midsize businesses to rectify wage gaps with larger companies.
"I asked for cooperation in next year’s wage negotiations for a substantial wage increase, building on this year’s momentum,” Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said.
BUSINESS
Nov 26, 2024
Ishiba renews pressure on companies to ramp up pay
Average wage deals this year hit a 33-year-high as firms responded to demands to raise pay amid ongoing inflation.
The services producer price index rose 2.9% in October from a year earlier, the Bank of Japan data shows, accelerating from a 2.8% gain in September.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 26, 2024
Japan's steady corporate service inflation bolsters BOJ rate-hike view
The Bank of Japan is watching service-sector inflation for clues on whether demand-driven price gains are broadening enough to justify further raising interest rates.
If the economic situation remains the same as in the past 30 years, the financially fragile basic pensions are projected to continue decreasing until fiscal 2057, with the basic pensions for people aged 65 expected to be 30% lower than the current amount.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 26, 2024
Japan's government proposes raising future basic pensions by 30%
The biggest obstacle will be whether Japan can secure stable financial resources for the measure.
Health minister Takamaro Fukuoka in an interview last week
JAPAN
Nov 24, 2024
Government aims to ease care worker shortages through wage hikes
Staff shortages at care facilities are "very serious," Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Takamaro Fukuoka said.
The Cabinet of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is set to approve an economic stimulus package totaling ¥21.9 trillion on Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2024
Ishiba set to announce $140 billion stimulus package
The package aims address a range of challenges from inflation to wage growth, and alleviate a cost-of-living crunch.
Rengo chief Tomoko Yoshino speaks at a news conference in Tokyo in October.
BUSINESS
Nov 21, 2024
Union chief calls for Ishiba to step up wage hike efforts
Rengo's Tomoko Yoshino was keen to emphasize that wage gains have to spread more to workers at smaller firms.
DPP policy chief Makoto Mahaguchi speaks at the party's policy gathering in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 20, 2024
Ruling coalition and DPP strike last-minute deal over economic policy
The package will include cash handouts to lower-income households and subsidies to help families cope with rising utility bills.
Democratic Party for the People head Yuichiro Tamaki speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Nov. 8.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 15, 2024
DPP leader clashes with governors over tax-free income limit
Prefectural governors fear that raising the ¥1.03 million limit would means less central government tax money for local services.
Democratic Party for the People chief Yuichiro Tamaki wants to the tax-free annual income ceiling raised to ¥1.78 million ($11,410).
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 14, 2024
Japan’s key political issue rests on an enduring economic myth
Economists cast doubts on the Democratic Party for the People's push for raising the tax-free income threshold — its key demand to the ruling coalition for its support.
Japanese household spending fell in September for the second straight month as higher prices choked consumers' appetite.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 8, 2024
Japan’s households cut spending once again as prices rise
Consumer spending in Japan has consistently failed to show clear signs of strength as shoppers have been forced to cope with prices increasing.
The pace of gains in Japanese workers' base pay quickened to 2.6% year on year in September, versus a 2.4% clip in August.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 7, 2024
Japan’s biggest base pay gains in 31 years support case for rate hikes
While base pay rose in September, real wages fell for a second straight month even as price gains slowed.
UA Zensen President Tomoko Nagashima addresses the labor union's meeting in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, on Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Nov 6, 2024
Japan’s UA Zensen union aims for continued 6% wage hike in 2025
UA Zensen’s target follows an announcement last month by Rengo that it will continue to aim for at least a 5% pay rise in the next round of negotiations.
Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People, speaks during an interview in Tokyo on Friday.
BUSINESS
Nov 1, 2024
Japan’s potential kingmaker says BOJ shouldn’t hike before March
The central bank needs to closely examine the results of next year’s wage deal results before moving on policy again, Tamaki said.
Boeing workers hold signs during a strike rally for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers at the Seattle Union Hall in Seattle, Washington, on Oct. 15.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 1, 2024
Striking Boeing workers set to vote on union-endorsed 38% wage hike offer
The vote on Monday, if approved, would be a boost for new CEO Kelly Ortberg, who is pushing for a "fundamental culture change" at the beleaguered company.
Leaders of the three major business groups — Keidanren, Keizai Doyukai and the Japan Chamber of Commerce — meet Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Oct. 4 in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 24, 2024
¥1,500 minimum wage or bust, Japanese companies told
Managers unable to keep up with the minimum-wage increase schedule “are unfit for their positions,” Keizai Doyukai Chair Takeshi Niinami has said.
Hiroshi Moriyama, secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party, stresses the significance of supporting all households with children at all stages of life.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 21, 2024
LDP calls for higher incomes for young people
Secretary-general Hiroshi Moriyama said, "It's important to increase the incomes of young people and families with children."
Workers picket outside the Boeing Co. manufacturing facility during a strike in Renton, Washington, on Oct. 3.
COMMENTARY
Oct 20, 2024
Time for unions to join the 21st-century economy
Automation stands to make U.S. ports and transportation of goods cheaper and more efficient. And it is easy to see why unions oppose it.
Rengo President Tomoko Yoshino
BUSINESS
Oct 17, 2024
Big wage increase sought by Japan’s largest union slightly underwhelms
For the 2025 spring wage negotiations, the Japanese Trade Union Confederation is aiming for a wage hike of "over 5%," the same goal as this year.
Success of Chinese-made fighter jets against India raises alarm in Asia
Chinese J-10 fighter jets from the People's Liberation Army Air Force August 1st Aerobatics Team perform during a media demonstration at the Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand, in November 2015.
Rich Japanese still fear yen crash, wealth manager says
The yen slumped more than 2% on Monday alone, nearing ¥150 to the dollar, after the U.S. and China temporarily lowered tariffs, triggering a reversal of bearish dollar bets.
Japan to recognize Taiwan as place of origin in family registration system
Masataka Yuhara, secretary-general of the Friends of Lee Teng Hui Association in Japan, which has been calling for "Taiwan" to be permitted as a place of origin in family registers.
Irresponsible climbing prompts debate over who should pay for Mount Fuji rescues
Mount Fuji fills the skyline above a bridge connecting stores at a popular outlet shopping center in the city of Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, in November 2024.
Akazawa's dilemma: no tariff deal or a half-baked deal
Chief tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa and his delegation in the Oval Office of the White House in April. Since then, Japan's trade negotiations with the U.S. have produced no tangible results.
For his first feature film, director Ryuya Suzuki created a masterpiece
"Jinsei," which follows its protagonist over a century, probes themes of identity and societal issues with a dark comic touch. The director, however, says he created the story without knowing where it would lead.
Historian Rob Fitts discovers earliest ever reference to baseball in Japan
Japan's Shohei Ohtani carries the Japanese flag onto the field before the start of the World Baseball Classic final against the United States in Miami on March 21, 2023.
Japanese retailers turn to California rice for cheaper alternative
U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass eats California rice at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo on Tuesday along with Mitsuko Tsuchiya, vice president of retailer Aeon.
Harmfully hot days for pregnant women in Japan nearly doubled over past five years
New research by a U.S. climate scientists’ group reveals that extreme heat has increased the risks of preterm births and other pregnancy complications in Japan, nearly doubling the number of days that are harmfully hot for pregnant women over the past five years.
Sumo title contenders already emerging in early stages of Tokyo meet
Onosato (left) battles Abi on Day 3 of the Summer Basho in Tokyo on Tuesday.

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