Japan Metal Union Aims for Record Wage Hike as BOJ Watches Trend

A Japanese labor union group will push in annual negotiations for a salary hike that exceeds the record gain obtained in the previous round of talks, in the latest sign that pay momentum is holding up.

The Japan Council of Metalworkers’ Unions called for a monthly base pay increase of at least ¥12,000 ($77) in negotiations that will run through March, according to a plan approved by its board on Wednesday. It’s the same initial target the group set a year ago as it began talks that culminated in a deal to increase pay this year by ¥10,169, the highest since it started setting a target for base salaries in 1998.