, Columnist
Japan Wants Wage Winners. Is It Ready for Losers?
Prime Minister Kishida has urged firms to boost workers’ pay. That would require more social upheaval than the country is prepared to accept.
Security is a double-edged sword.
Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The slogan used by the Japan Council of Metalworkers’ Unions sums it up: “Secure Jobs for a Secure Future.”
Throughout the country, talk and headlines hint at a seminal moment that will alter the economy’s course, with the spring shunto wage negotiations delivering the best results in three decades. International investors are watching closely to gauge whether they will convince the Bank of Japan that salaries are rising along with prices, and so alter its long-standing easy-money policy.