News Hourly minimum wage in Japan expected to rise by 'at least' 30 yen

Since 25 July, no concrete discussions had been conducted, and so the labor ministry and other parties continued negotiations behind the scenes. As a result, it is expected that the national weighted average of the minimum wage will be increased by at least 30 JPY (0.23 USD), taking into consideration price increases and the fact that wages have also been increasing at small- and medium-sized businesses. Guidelines for the minimum wage are usually settled between mid and late July each year. Last year, under the political leadership of then Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who was enthusiastic about raising the minimum wage, an increase of 28 JPY per hour was fixed, which was the highest hike ever at the time. The management side complained about this decision, however, and took the unusual move of calling for a vote.

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While the number of highly paid directors was increasing, salaries of regular employees didn't increase much, Tokyo Shoko Research found. A record 287 companies had a director or directors whose remuneration was more than 100 million yen. This was 34 more than the previous fiscal year. Hitachi Ltd. had the largest number of such directors for the third consecutive year. In the latest statistics, the company was shown to be paying 18 directors more than 100 million yen, three more than the previous fiscal year. At Toshiba Corp., 13 directors were paid more than 100 million yen, significantly more than just the one director in the previous fiscal year. Among 14 companies ranking in the top 10 firms with the largest number of directors earning at least 100 million yen, the number of such directors increased from the previous fiscal year at 10 of them.

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The health ministry formally approved a recommendation by its sub-committee that the average minimum wage for the current fiscal year ending in March 2023 be raised by 31 yen, or a record 3.3%, from the current level to 961 yen ($7.30) per hour, two ministry officials told Reuters. [...] "Given the underlying inflation of over 2% and Japan's growth potential of around 1%, the pace of minimum wage hikes is reasonable, reflecting the premier's commitment to higher wages," said Yoshimasa Maruyama, chief market economist at SMBC Nikko Securities.

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Petaris said:

I went to the supermarket yesterday and, while it has been three years since the last time I was in Japan, my goodness how the prices have risen. A 30 JPY raise per hour is really just insulting.

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Uncle Frank said:

My town of Portland , Maine wants to raise the minimum wage to 2429Y per hour. Small business owners will hurt and when prices get passed on to consumers , they will go to nearby towns to save money.

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thomas said:

Oh, I just noticed the little Japanese flag under your avatar!

Any items in particular? Apart from electricity and fuel, it isn't easy to notice increases in daily life, as it's 10 yen here, 20 yen there. Only price increases on iconic products (such as this one) make it into the news.

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