Hi all. Emma Ockerman from Nikkei Asia here. I’m on the audience engagement team.
Just wanted to share this report, if it’s of interest:
>Japan’s largest employers announced record pay increases on Wednesday, signaling a break from the deflationary mindset that led to the country’s prolonged period of low economic growth known as the “lost decades.” > >Every spring, unions and management hold talks, known as shunto, to set monthly wages ahead of the start of Japan’s fiscal year in April. Toyota Motor, Hitachi and Panasonic Holdings were among the companies that on Wednesday fully met labor unions’ demands to raise wages. > >Nippon Steel’s response exceeded the union’s demands, raising monthly wages by a record 35,000 yen ($237), or 14%. The steelmaker, which in December agreed to buy American peer U.S. Steel for 2 trillion yen, said, “It is essential to secure promising talent and make all employees more productive.” > >Toyota did not disclose details of its wage increases but said it fully met union demands. The Toyota Motor Workers’ Union has demanded a record bonus payment worth 7.6 months of salary, citing the company’s all-time high annual operating profit forecast of 4.5 trillion yen for the current fiscal year. The union has also proposed specific demands for each job category, up to a 28,440 yen monthly wage increase. > >Hitachi and Toshiba said their pay hikes are the largest since the current negotiation style was introduced in 1998.
Have had quite a few friends in industry mention that they got raises recently. Great for Japan.
Is it above inflation though? Otherwise there isn’t much difference to getting no pay rise and there being no growth in the cost of living. It’s actually often worse if tax bands don’t also go up.
3 comments
Hi all. Emma Ockerman from Nikkei Asia here. I’m on the audience engagement team.
Just wanted to share this report, if it’s of interest:
>Japan’s largest employers announced record pay increases on Wednesday, signaling a break from the deflationary mindset that led to the country’s prolonged period of low economic growth known as the “lost decades.”
>
>Every spring, unions and management hold talks, known as shunto, to set monthly wages ahead of the start of Japan’s fiscal year in April. Toyota Motor, Hitachi and Panasonic Holdings were among the companies that on Wednesday fully met labor unions’ demands to raise wages.
>
>Nippon Steel’s response exceeded the union’s demands, raising monthly wages by a record 35,000 yen ($237), or 14%. The steelmaker, which in December agreed to buy American peer U.S. Steel for 2 trillion yen, said, “It is essential to secure promising talent and make all employees more productive.”
>
>Toyota did not disclose details of its wage increases but said it fully met union demands. The Toyota Motor Workers’ Union has demanded a record bonus payment worth 7.6 months of salary, citing the company’s all-time high annual operating profit forecast of 4.5 trillion yen for the current fiscal year. The union has also proposed specific demands for each job category, up to a 28,440 yen monthly wage increase.
>
>Hitachi and Toshiba said their pay hikes are the largest since the current negotiation style was introduced in 1998.
Full report can be found [here.](https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Business-trends/Japanese-companies-boost-wages-in-departure-from-lost-decades)
Have had quite a few friends in industry mention that they got raises recently. Great for Japan.
Is it above inflation though? Otherwise there isn’t much difference to getting no pay rise and there being no growth in the cost of living. It’s actually often worse if tax bands don’t also go up.