Japan's small businesses unable to support Abe's wage strategy

Tokyo

JAPAN'S government hopes that raising the minimum wage will "trickle up" into a broader rise in pay and consumption, but the smaller businesses that account for most Japanese jobs are in no shape to square that virtuous circle.

Since taking office in late 2012, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has badgered companies to raise wages to help end decades of deflation and stagnant growth, but only the largest employers have responded. Last month, he took matters into his own hands, pledging to raise the minimum wage by about 3 per cent a year for the next five years or more.