Japan’s Largest Business Lobby Reports Pay Hikes Exceeding 5%

Japan’s top business lobby reported that workers at affiliated companies won pledges for pay hikes exceeding 5% for a second consecutive year, an outcome that points to continued momentum in wage increases fueled by the worsening labor crunch.

Some 620,000 workers at 97 major companies affiliated with the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, saw average pay raises of 5.38% as a result of this year’s wage negotiations, the group reported Thursday in a preliminary tally. While slightly below last year’s corresponding figure of 5.58%, the outcome was more than twice the 20-year average of approximately 2.3%.