Japan plans another record hike in minimum wage

[TOKYO] A Japanese labour ministry panel plans to recommend an increase of about 6 per cent in the national average minimum wage for this fiscal year, for the biggest such jump since at least 2002, the Kyodo news agency said on Friday (Aug 1).

The proposed hike, to about 1,118 yen (S$9.63) per hour, would exceed last year’s increase of 5 per cent and be the largest since the current system began, the agency added, without citing sources.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s administration set a target last year of raising the average minimum wage by 42 per cent to 1,500 yen per hour by the end of the decade.

Raising the legally binding minimum wage would boost households’ purchasing power, but squeeze profits at small firms that struggle to make ends meet. REUTERS