TOKYO, May 20 (NNN-NHK) – Major Japanese companies raised wages by an average 3.91 percent, following this year’s spring wage negotiations, marking the largest jump in 31 years, Japan’s biggest business lobby said, yesterday.
The average wage hike was equivalent to 13,110 yen (95 U.S. dollars) per month, up 5,680 yen from the previous year, according to preliminary data, from Japan Business Federation, also known as Keidanren.
The increase was larger than 2.27 percent the year earlier, and the sharpest since 1992, when the average wage grew by 4.78 percent, the data showed.
Keidanren’s initial tally was calculated on the average wage change per labour union member, at 92 companies in 15 different industries.
The figures show that, all 15 industries, except for steelmakers, logged larger wage increases than last year. Shipbuilders saw the biggest rise of 6.06 percent, followed by the machinery and metal industry’s 5.01 percent and construction companies’ 4.64 percent.
As the country grapples with surging consumer prices, largely due to rising import costs, following a weak yen and the Ukraine crisis, Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, repeatedly asked businesses to raise wages at a pace that exceeds the inflation rate and helps sustain the economy.
