An advisory panel to Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare recommended
on Tuesday raising the national average minimum hourly wage by 4.9% to ¥1,176
(about $7.18) for the current fiscal year. The ¥55-an-hour increase is the
second-largest on record, though below last year’s 6.3% rise, would cover more
than 50 million workers and is expected to be phased in from October after
prefectures set specific rates. The wage gain supports the Bank of Japan’s
effort to create a wage-driven demand–inflation virtuous cycle, strengthening
the case for further tightening as a weaker yen raises import energy and food
costs and squeezes household spending.
