Overview

• Japanese firms have raised or will raise monthly average regular wages by a record amount this year, according to an annual government survey.
• Monthly regular pay rose 3.2%, or ¥9,437 ($63.59), on average this year — both record highs since comparative figures began in 1999.
• The percentage of firms that raised or will raise average regular wages this year reached 89.1%, the highest since 2019.
• Major companies agreed to average pay hikes of 3.58% earlier this year, the highest increase in three decades, according to trade union group Rengo.
• Early indications suggest that the labor and cost pressures behind this year's wage hikes will persist into next year's spring wage talks.