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July 02, 2026
 

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WAGES

Nissan agreed to raise monthly salaries by ¥10,000, including pay scale increases, and to provide bonuses equivalent to five months' salary this year.
BUSINESS
Mar 11, 2026
Nissan accepts union’s wage hike demand in full
The struggling Japanese automaker agreed to raise monthly salaries by ¥10,000, including pay scale increases, and to provide bonuses equivalent to five months’ salary this year.
Real wages increased 1.4% from a year earlier in January, the fastest increase since May 2021.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 9, 2026
Japan’s real wages advance for first time in 13 months
Real wages increased 1.4% from a year earlier in January, exceeding economists’ median forecast of a 0.9% gain, the labor ministry reported Monday.
Real wages have been falling in Japan for a number of years despite high nominal increases.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 6, 2026
Unions seeking wage increases this year of almost 6%
The spring offensive results are likely to be in line with last year’s.
Some 466 unions affiliated with UA Zensen are seeking a pay raise of 6.46% for regular workers on a weighted average, according to a tally released Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 5, 2026
Japanese labor union group sets more ambitious pay goal as BOJ watches
The push by UA Zensen, which represents unions across the retail, restaurants, materials and service sectors, follows other labor groups’ ambitious targets.
Despite a Supreme People's Court ruling making it illegal for workers and employers to avoid social insurance payments, many workers in China feel they earn too little to contribute.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Mar 2, 2026
As parliament meets, China is yet to pass last year’s economic reform test
Economists see the ruling making it illegal for workers and employers to avoid social insurance payments as a pivotal test for Beijing, but many say compliance remains partial.
Mazda Motor has fully met union demands by offering pay-scale and regular pay increases of ¥19,000 in total a month.
BUSINESS
Feb 26, 2026
Mazda, Mitsubishi and Yamaha fully meet union wage hike demands
The companies are apparently aiming to maintain pay hike momentum amid the tough business environment caused by U.S. tariffs.
Hitachi Vice President Susumu Takimoto answers questions about the 2026 spring wage negotiations on Thursday in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 20, 2026
Wage talks begin in earnest at Japanese electronics-makers
Unions at Hitachi, Mitsubishi Electric and other large companies requested a pay scale increase of ¥18,000 per month, bigger than last year’s record-high demand.
Japanese workers’ real wages fell 0.1% from a year earlier in December, the labor ministry said Monday, extending declines to every month of 2025 amid persistent inflation.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 9, 2026
Japan’s real wages drop extends to full year as prices advance
The decline bolsters the case for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to continue down a more expansionary fiscal path after she secured a sweeping election victory.
The Japanese Association of Metal, Machinery and Manufacturing Workers holds a meeting in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on Jan. 16.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Feb 1, 2026
Small firms in Japan struggling to raise wages
It is difficult for small companies to narrow the pay gap with large corporations at a time when prolonged inflation is driving up costs.
A board showing the yen's exchange rate with the U.S. dollar in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 30, 2026
Japan business leader calls on government to act more on yen rate
The comments came as the weak yen continues to hurt smaller firms by pushing up import costs and narrowing room for wage increases.
Yoshinobu Tsutsui, chairman of the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, delivers a speech at the Keidanren labor management forum in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 30, 2026
Full wage talks start in Japan with labor management forum
Pay hikes have yet to catch up with inflation in Japan, with real wages extending their losing streak to 11 months as of November.
Masashi Jinbo, head of the Japanese Electrical Electronic and Information Union, speaks at a union meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 28, 2026
Japanese electronics unions to demand pay scale hike of over ¥18,000
Last year, member unions of the Japanese Electrical Electronic and Information Union demanded an increase of at least ¥17,000.
Japan’s largest trade union federation, Rengo, was seeking a wage increase of at least 5% as wage talks between unions and employers kicked off Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 27, 2026
Japan business lobby warns of tariff impact as wage talks start
The head of Japan’s biggest business lobby said he expects businesses to maintain wage hike momentum to a certain extent during the talks despite some “clearly very tough factors.”
Tomoko Yoshino, president of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, commonly known as Rengo, speaks during a rally in April 2023.
BUSINESS
Jan 23, 2026
Rengo leader seeks average 5% wage hikes for third consecutive year
The union leader expressed a wish to “build momentum around the idea that wages rise,” reaffirming the largest Japanese labor group’s target of at least 5% in pay increases.
Yuichiro Tamaki (right), head of the Democratic Party for the People, during a news conference in the parliamentary building on Thursday
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 23, 2026
DPP vows to boost take-home pay in election pledges
While listing measures to alleviate the financial burdens on taxpayers, the opposition party also pledged not to raise taxes for the time being.
Fujitsu CEO Takahito Tokita says the firm's shift away from annual spring hiring of graduates is designed to pay appropriate compensation to people with high abilities from the beginning, rather than paying based on seniority.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 13, 2026
Fujitsu CEO vows to keep raising wages, with annual graduate hiring set to end
Wages at Fujitsu are high in the Japanese electronics industry, but CEO Takahito Tokita says the company needs to pay more amid an intensifying global race for talent.
The number of business failures with liabilities of ¥10 million or more grew 2.9% from the previous year to 10,300 in 2025, rising for the fourth consecutive year, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 13, 2026
Business failures in Japan top 10,000 for second year amid rising costs
The number of failures related to labor shortages, such as soaring labor costs, surged 35.9% to 397, the highest level since statistics began in 2013.
Base pay in Japan increased 2% in November from a year earlier, according to the labor ministry.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 8, 2026
Japan’s base pay growth holds steady, but nominal wage increases slow
The mixed signals come two weeks before the Bank of Japan next meet to decide policy.
Keidanren Chairman Yoshinobu Tsutsui (left), Ken Kobayashi (center), head of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Keizai Doyukai Chairman Akio Yamaguchi at a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 7, 2026
Japanese business leaders positive about continuing wage hikes
One of the key challenges in upcoming negotiations is to extend the trend of significant wage increases beyond large companies.
This year’s winter bonuses at large companies in Japan topped ¥1 million.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 25, 2025
Major Japan firms’ winter-bonus average tops ¥1 million
The average rose 8.57% from a year before, up for the fourth consecutive year, according to a survey conducted by the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren.
Japan triples departure tax in push to combat overtourism
Tourists in Yanaka Ginza, Tokyo, on Wednesday. Japan tripled its International Tourist Tax (departure tax) to ¥3,000 from ¥1,000 on Wednesday for all travelers leaving Japan, regardless of nationality.
More facilities in Japan placing sanitary bins in men’s restrooms
A sanitary bin with an awareness sticker placed in a men's restroom in the Nagasaki Municipal Government building
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
Six of the best: rikishi of note in each sumo division
Kazuma (right) faces off against future <i>yokozuna</i> Onosato during the All Japan Amateur Sumo Championships at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in December 2020.
Some startups see opportunity in an aging Japan
Yasmin Baba, CTO of Amilis, wins the Grand Prize at the Pitch2Tokyo Grand Final on Feb. 19.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.

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