Japan Minimum Wage Challenges: Ideas Later.

Japan's minimum wage race heats up as businesses feel the strain

Article to be deleted after ideas.

Article:

AKITA (Kyodo) -- To stem the outflow of young people from regional areas amid a tight labor market, prefectures in Japan are engaged in a minimum wage race in which even one yen can make a difference.

Akita Prefecture in northeastern Japan, having been in a battle for last place for several years, climbed out of the country's bottom ranking for hourly pay. But the move also sparked backlash from business leaders, resulting in the prefecture's advisory council delaying implementation of the wage hike for six months.

Akita, which had the lowest minimum wage in the country at 951 yen ($6) per hour in fiscal year 2024, raised it by 80 yen to 1,031 yen. The increase came as a surprise to Tomokazu Terada, president of Marudai, which operates five supermarkets in the capital city of Akita. He said the company was already struggling with soaring labor costs.

"I think the employees are happy, but management isn't reaping any benefits from climbing out of last place," Terada said. "It gives the impression that (the government) is charging ahead without regard for the real economy or business performance."

Japan's national weighted average minimum hourly wage is 1,121 yen, with regional rates ranging from 1,023 yen in prefectures like Okinawa in southern Japan to 1,226 yen in Tokyo, the highest. Driven partly by comparisons with neighboring prefectures, the competition to raise wages has intensified, and hourly pay has topped 1,000 yen in all 47 prefectures.

As the lowest hourly wage set by Japanese law, the minimum wage applies to nearly all workers, including full-time employees, part-time workers, temporary workers and foreign employees.

For workers, it is a lifeline that allows them to earn a living. From the perspective of small and midsized businesses, it can be viewed as a labor cost imposed by the government.

At Marudai, more than 80 percent of some 400 employees are non-regular workers, and many of them earn hourly wages close to the minimum wage.

"This means an increase of several million yen in monthly labor costs. Our financial situation is already on edge," Terada said.

Once a year, a national advisory panel under the labor ministry recommends guideline increases, which prefectural councils use in setting local minimum wages.

On July 28, the panel recommended raising the national average by 4.9 percent to 1,176 yen this fiscal year, a 55-yen increase and the second-largest on record. Prefectural councils are expected to set their minimum wages mainly this month.

Tomoaki Usuki, an Akita University professor who chairs the prefecture's advisory council, said senior prefectural officials had approached him early in the deliberations last fiscal year. "There was a strong request that we proceed with our deliberations with the aim of moving the prefecture out of last place," he said.

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260828/p2g/00m/0bu/029000c

Japan Govt. View on Economy: Updated Sept. 2, 2026.

Japan keeps view on economy for Aug., cautions about quake, rain impact

Ideas

The powers to be in Japan seemed to always way the economy is recovering moderately maybe as a way to appease the financial markets and it's the best realistic idea that they can give.

But of course there are always natural disaster situations in Japan that seem to disrupt the economy in many ways throughout Japan too, and yes, the Middle East situation, one country or another is always going to be a concern for Japan and the global economy.

Of course the July 28 earthquake was a major setback to the Japanese economy and even worse a major setback for the residents of that region.

And again, different regions seem to always be hit some kind of natural disaster or another and the Chiba region hit with major rains is a perfect example that Japan continue to be hit with all kinds of natural disasters.

Many government always uses different phrases as a way to show something positive and not say outright anything negative as they always want to be somewhat positive or at least realistic in their assessments.

The phrase improving doesn't give any real quantitative metric but its positive and that might only the financial markets want to hear. But the use of the phrase flat, while not positive and maybe somewhat less than positive might be the best phrase instead of saying the market is stagnant or not growing.

And then there is private consumption or consumer spending that is always in the zone of picking up but never really anything more than that as consumer spending, while estimated to the up to or slight more than half of Japan's GPD doesn't seem to ever live up where it should be.

The real challenge with consumer spending or private consumption, as described it Japan is the someone keeps saying an increase in government subsidies might be the reason for less consumer spending and it might be true and maybe it should continue to be mentioned due to fact that it might be part of the reason for less spending by households or consumers in the economy.

Yes the economy might have expanded 75 straight months but it must be tempered with the idea that the expansion each month might have been less than 1 percent each month or even less than 0.5 percent each month.

Economists usually are very accurate in the assessments and even more accurate or reliable in being truthful so most likely whatever they decide, hopefully will not be watered down with ideas that just want to keep the financial markets happy or keep business happy when both groups need accurate assessments about what is really going on in Japan.

But the again, if you were to put 100 economist into room, as the saying goes, you would get a hundred different ideas or opinions about something and hopefully that won't happen as they will be able to come to some kind of consensus on what happened the last 75 months.

Have a nice day!

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260827/p2g/00m/0bu/049000c

Japan July Jobless Rate: Updated Aug. 29, 2026.

Japan's July jobless rate falls to 2.4%, 1st improvement in 3 months

Ideas

The Japanese economy has one of the best unemployment rates in the world but at the same time, it has one of the highest economies with workers who work either part-time jobs and or contract jobs, which means less benefits compared to full-time large company name-brand workers.

At the same time its estimated that up to 70 percent of the Japanese workforce doesn't work for large Japanese companies but small and mid-size companies which make up, an estimated 90 percent or more of companies in Japan.

However, despite some of the supposed negatives in the Japanese economy it is a very stable economy despite the structural challenges that exist for some in the economy.

It's quite possible if given a choice these days, less people are opting for retirement due to the idea that either they need to keep working and either they just want to keep working instead of just sitting at home maybe doing nothing.

And the idea of workers involuntarily leaving their jobs as maybe as surveyed to situation but didn't find anything better out there as maybe many of the better jobs are now taken and they felt it was best just to stay where they are at for the time being.

In years past, it was rare or very unheard of for Japanese companies to dismiss workers but even in Japan now times change and whether good or not so good, many Japanese companies have adopted western style practices such as laying off workers as a way to cut expenses and make sure they meet their shareholder's quarterly expectations.

In an economy has large as Japans its not uncommon for workers to voluntarily leave their jobs for any number of reasons which might include taking time to look for another job, part-time workers changing part-time jobs and mother of children taking a leave from their job to raise their children.

Even though there might be 118 jobs for every 100 jobs doesn't mean all of the jobs being offered are the large Japanese name-brand company jobs as some might be jobs that, unfortunately some potential workers might not like such as the salary being too low, the hours being too many.

There is a supposed labor shortage in Japan now which means potential workers have a choice but even if have a choice that doesn't mean they are going to find the job that it best for them as always workers sometimes and many times, have to take the best possible choice out there and it might not be what a worker wants or needs.

Its interesting that the accommodation sector saw a drops in job openings when at the present time there are record foreign tourists coming to Japan and you would think that hotels and other places would be hiring more workers as there are more tourists now entering Japan.

At the same time its possible that the wholesale and retail sectors are having challenges with their profits margins and costs and they just don't have the extra funds needed to hire any more workers even though they might need workers.

With the other sectors it's possible that their profits margins are somewhat stable which means they have room to not only advertise for new workers but maybe even, due to the labor shortage, offer better wages or salaries to lure more workers to their companies.

Have a nice day!

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260828/p2g/00m/0bu/020000c

Japan July Core Consumer Inflation. Updated Aug. 26, 2026.

  

Japan's July core consumer inflation rises 1.8%, up for 2nd month

Ideas

Japan's core consumer prices have continued to increase ever since the end of the pandemic and it seems like they are not coming down anytime soon.

Globally, it seems to be a problem for most if not all countries and consumer prices just keep increasing and again it doesn't seem like its going to end anytime soon, and high prices may now be the new normal for Japan and the global economy.

And yes, the BOJ might take action in September, as suggested by some due the increase in prices of many things including what is happiness with AI.

At 1.6 percent for the consumer price index it means that inflation in Japan is maybe not increasing but at least remaining somewhat stable for the past seven months.

At the same time, even at 1.6 percent it might still be a little too high for those who work part time, or contract work, or even those on fixed incomes in Japan.

Many countries prefer to keep the inflation level at 2 percent or less as it seems to be a manageable percent for most central banks globally.

Of course the challenge with plastic materials is going to be major problem for many companies in Japan especially food and supermarkets.

Even with an increase of 3 percent for the price of food some households in Japan might still feel the price increases while those in maybe the middle income or higher groups might not even notice the increase, as it might not be dent their food budgets.

But hamburger prices, while usually not a main food product in Japan might have seen supply chains disruptions and the reason for the increase in prices along with maybe supply challenges.

Yes, the shortage of plastic materials meaning any plastic that is used for many things might have been significantly challenged with shortage and or course supply chain disruptions in the Middle East.

It seems semiconductors, now days, is used is most electronic products and the increase in demand for AI products related to semiconductors, over the past year or so has significantly increased the price of tables and notebook computers.

And no doubt the Middle East situation, whether direct or not has had an affect on a ll energy commodities and energy companies, as usual are quick to increase prices even if their commodity products are not related to the Middle East situation.

Electricity and gas, whether used by households or companies can easily turn into a major monthly expense or at least an expense that can be controlled somewhat but not completely.

Of course, as needed and very important energy subsidies can help the average household and especially those who do need to use a car in the major metro areas but especially in the rural areas where people have to drive a lot to get from one point to another.

Government, state, and local subsidies are very much needed in Japan to defer the increased costs of the volatile global energy situation, but its sometimes debated as to how much should governments intervene or provide subsidies and how much does it disrupt normal market operations in an economy.

In economics subsidies are always being debated about the positives and negatives of them as there are good and not so good ideas related to subsidies, as they tend to help households and consumers but at the same time drive up the government debt which as of now Japan's debt to GDP is significantly higher than it should be.

Every so often statistical agencies will change the base year as what was evaluated years ago might not be relevant for today so the reason for agencies moving the base year from 2020 to 2025 as even a six year difference can mean a significant different in consumer spending and and the products bought over time.

Finally, even a 1.9 percent in the core-core CPI can have a major impact on some groups in Japan such as the fixed income groups, the part time worker groups, the contract worker groups and especially the single mom who has to take care of her children on a limited income.

Have a nice day!

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260821/p2g/00m/0bu/018000c

Japan Convenience Store Sales: Updated Aug. 21, 2026.

Japan convenience store sales up 0.7% on promotional efforts in July

Ideas

Japanese convenience stores or conbinis as they are called in Japan are an out of this world experience as they are not like convenience stores in any other country.

While they are not like real dollar stores or even like Daiso, which is a popular 100 yen store in Japan, they carry a lot of products and not to mention most fresh food and you can almost exist exclusively on food from a Japanese convenience store everyday, if you are on a reduced budget.

The Japanese convenience, for the most part, have been created to fill the need of the busy metro office worker in Japan as most of the convenience stores are in the large metro areas in Japan.

And they have more than just fresh food and snacks but also fax services, some bank services, ATM services and so on for the busy office worker. And you can get your Amazon or even Rakuten online order shipped to a nearby convenience store, pick it up at the store, and then catch the train back to your home too.

It's been noted in other articles that most of the part-time workers are now foreign students and not Japanese students as for some reason Japanese students don't want to work at a convenience store as maybe the pay is either too low or the hours are not good for them or they just don't want to do what is needed as a part time convenience store worker.

Whenever I visit Japan, mostly in Yokohama and go to a convenience store, you can see the name tags of the part time workers which is written in the katakana script used is mostly used for foreign words in Japan.

What should be admired about Japan is its business culture even though there is a lot competition among the seven major convenience store operators, it doesn't seem to be like the the competition in the US as it seems there is a layer of cooperation among the seven convenience store operators like there is among Japanese car makers and Japanese airline companies as its more of a shared culture of we are all in this together even though we are competitors.

Once again, it seems, at least in the major metro areas such as Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoya, and the Tokyo metro area, that there is convenience stores on almost every corner to meet the needs of the busy metro company workers.

For many of these convenience stores they almost have 24 hour re-stocking of some products as its all computerized now and when a product begins to run low they re-stock the products quickly and even though some fresh food products might be re-stocked every hour they are re-stocked fast enough for at least the main rush hour worker times of in the morning, at lunch, and in the evening too.

And yes, due to the inflation challenge in Japan now, its quite possible that office workers in Japan are not visiting a convenience store as much as before as they too have cut-back on how many times they might visit a convenience in a day or even a week now.

All told visiting a Japanese convenience store might not be like a visit to a 7 wonders of the world experience but its worth visiting to see just what goes on in a Japanese conbini and see all the fresh food and all the daily products they have available and not to mention the ice coffee machines which of course is much cheaper than a Starbucks in Japan and you can get  hot coffee or ice coffee for around 100 yen or maybe 150 yen at the most.

Have a nice nice day!

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260820/p2g/00m/0bu/033000c

Japan Current Account: Updated Aug. 27, 2026.

Japan logs 635 bil. yen trade deficit in July, weak yen swells oil imports

Ideas

Japan is a resource-poor country which means it has to import much if not all it needs and as a result is subject to global price fluctuations and then add in the weak Japanese yen, which increases the price of imports which actually distorts the volume difference between exports and imports.

It seems as if Japan has fee free trade agreements that actually help the economy when global prices are fluctuating too much and again Japan has to import much of what it needs which its subject to what is happening globally maybe more than any other economy globally.

Japan and the US, for many reasons, even though they are supposed trade partners and allies have never really had a bilateral free trade agreement, even though they made some mini agreements but again not a real comprehensive type agreement.

As a result oil shipments from the US, due to shipping and logistical supply chain situations, and of course the weak Japanese yen, have increased the price of energy and oil from the US recently.

It remains to be seen, after adding in shipping, supply chain costs and other costs, whether getting oil from the US is worth or good for the short-term due to the Middle East situation.

Yes, Japan might need to continue to get energy and oil from the US but is the cost worth it compared to the cost to ship it from the Middle East now and in the future.

However, related to security issues it might just be worth the cost to get the energy and oil it needs from the US and avoid, if possible. the Middle East all together.

Most likely the value of shipments of semiconductors, globally, due the high demand related to the AI explosion is going to continue on from some time until the demand settles down, if it ever will?

And because semiconductors are now used in all or most electronic products all of those products are now going to see prices increases, globally, and not just in Japan.

It should be remembered or considered there is import value, the price of imports and the volume of imports which both are of course very different but it seems the value of cost of imports might be the real challenge for the Japanese economy, as most likely the volume of imports probably hasn't changed that much.

The US tariff situation has been reduced to 15 percent which means most likely Japanese car companies might be absorbing the tariffs due to the fact that the US is one of Japan's largest car export countries and they can afford to absorb the tariff costs and still earn substantial profits for their shareholders.

And it seems that maybe just maybe exports to China have begun to improve as it was a little down there for a while to the usual diplomatic on again off again issues.

Yes, it seems, again most likely due to the weak Japanese yen, that an increase in value of the imports from the US to Japan has decreased the current account surplus with the US.

It seems, ever since the pandemic or end of the pandemic China's economy has been in a challenging situation and trade with China, while a major consumer and manufacturing economy, has not been at its best recently.

But its good that Japan continues trade with China, as the famous quote, most likely from the book "The Art of War," keep your friends close but keep your enemies closer, which might a good idea for Japan to continue to trade with China despite the current on gain off again, diplomatic challenges at hand.

And of course, as expected both the US and China continue to be important trade partners even though they might not see eye to eye on everything these days and trade is beneficial for both countries and for the consumers of both countries.

Have a nice day!

Article source:   https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260820/p2g/00m/0bu/010000c

Foreign Visitors to Japan: Updated Aug. 20, 2026

Foreign visitors to Japan hit 3.44 mil. in July, new record for month.

Ideas

By now after years of seeing significant increases in foreign Visitors to Japan, foreign tourism might be considered an economic driver as it perhaps now causes an increase in Japan's overall GDP growth. 

But at the same time, there are some in Japan who think maybe now Japan has hit the over-tourism stage in some areas such and Kyoto and Osaka, which is causing some Japanese residents to be unsure of larger increases in foreign tourism in Japan.

It was not too long ago, just before the pandemic that many in South Korea were boycotting Japanese products and traveling to Japan for a short weekend vacation was not very popular.

But as times change, many South Korean don't even think twice about taking a weekend trip to Japan as the flight from Seoul Gimpo to Tokyo Haneda is only a two hour flight and now company employees in South Korea can easily extend the trip to three days with a day off on Friday or Monday.

And Taiwan, being just a little farther can do the same too as both Taiwan and South Korea can enjoy greater purchasing power with the weak Japanese yen which means everything is cheaper for them.

Unfortunately, there always seems to be some kind of diplomatic challenge between China and Japan as whether warranted or not Japan seems to be sometimes says things that China doesn't seem to like.

However, even though the Chinese government cautioned Chinese citizens from traveling to Japan, which is like directive not to go, it seems that 482,200 Chinese citizens ignored the supposed order and still went to Japan.

Maybe like Spain and France in Europe, Japan is the new hot spot to go to in Asia as it seems 17 markets set new visitor records which might have been unheard of even back ten years or so ago.

Yes, but the dates might be a little off as the rumor about a natural disaster was actually in the summer of 2024 not 2025, but then again the article might be talking about another possible natural disaster which could be true as Japan seems to get a lot natural disasters and rumors of natural disasters.

While foreign tourism is up there are other areas of concern in Japan such as the new or latest immigration rules which are beginning to turn away those who want to live and work in Japan which maybe many foreign tourists know nothing about.

As Japan wants and needs foreign tourism money they don't want any more foreigners, it seems, living and working Japan at this time. 

Unfortunately, there are always going to be foreign tourists in every country that don't have manners and do things that the local population doesn't like, such as noise and garbage disposal which is very important in Japan and doing it correctly is important.

Yes, foreign tourists should know and understand that they are guests in Japan and should act like guests and be respectful of the local population and its customs and try to do things that the average Japanese citizen would do everyday.

Have a nice day!

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260819/p2g/00m/0sc/035000c