Japan Food Price Hikes: Updated June 2, 2026.

Japan faces price hikes on more than 1,000 food items in June

Ideas

Not many years ago many Japanese food companies, and Japanese companies in general, were very reluctant to pass-on their increased costs to the next in the supply chain which eventually included the final retail customer.

But as profits margins of Japanese companies have become small and smaller now, whether good of not so good, they have to think about the share-holders if they are publicly traded company which many of them are now.

Companies in the past, for the most part, focused more on being customer centric and even employee centric and if they had a quarter or two of less than good earnings they were always focused on the future and not the immediate present, as market share was the most important metric for them for a very long time.

Japanese companies again, maybe want to be employee and customer centric, meaning think of employees and customers as stakeholders and not as commodities like maybe in the US, but these days its becoming harder and harder for Japanese companies to do what they used to do for many decades as external forces are forcing them to think much differently than they used to.

Companies are not increasing prices due to consumer demand and that might be good thing but they are increasing prices due to increased energy costs, increased raw material costs, and increased labor costs as now, due to the supposed labor shortage they need to increase wages to either keep their existing employees or attract new employees to their company.

If consumer demand were high, then it would be logical for some or many companies to increase prices to take advantage of the increase in consumer demand, but unfortunately consumer demand in Japan, these days, just isn't enough to see many companies increasing prices because of demand for their products.

The Middle East situation has affected most global supply chains and global products for almost every country and there doesn't seem to be any end in site and when in does end it is estimated to take a least six more months to get the supply chain networks back to some kind of normal or at least as new normal for now.

So for now, Japan and other countries need to find alternatives to using naphtha type products or other ways to wrap or store food products such as stores that use plastic packaging, which I'm sure there is some company now working on just that idea in Japan or globally too.

Japan is a very resource-poor country which means it has to import much of what it needs and on top of that Japan, for the most part, has become more cosmopolitan and imports many other foreign products into Japan that Japanese families and consumers want and need everyday now.

Increased prices in the US its almost a given as companies don't think twice about increasing prices as they are very much share-holder centric which means they unfortunately only care about their quarterly earnings and they are never really focused on the long-term view like Japanese or even Korean companies are.

So again, in the past Japanese companies were very reluctant to increase prices or pass-on their increased costs to the next in the supply chain and eventually the final customer as they valued the relationships they had to their supply chain partners and their customers and being the most important relationships they had along with their employees.

But those days, for many or some companies might be slipping away, as again, more and more external forces are causing Japanese companies to think in a different way and they might feel they have no choice but to increase prices and pass-on their costs to the final retail customer.

Have a nice day!

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260529/p2g/00m/0bu/034000c

Japanese Major Firms and Wage Increases: Updated March 31, 2026.

Major Japan firms offer large pay hikes in spring negotiations

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260318/p2g/00m/0bu/032000c

Ideas

Its no surprise that major Japanese companies are meeting the wage hike demands of their labor unions as they have the needed resources to do it and of course they will eventually pass-on the wage increases, which are a cost, to the next in the supply chain including of course the final retail customer.

The challenge of course will be what are small and mid-size companies going to do, as up to 70 percent of all workers in Japan work for small and mid-size companies and not the large name-brand companies that always makes the news, as again, many of the small and mid-size companies just don't have the resources or even the profit margins to match what large companies are planning on doing.

And it's estimated that up to 90 percent or more of businesses in Japan are in the small and mid-size category and again not in the large company category.

Part of the challenge for small companies in Japan is that many of them might be suppliers to large companies and the large companies, while illegal, might tell the small companies if you increase the prices of the supplies we buy from you we might not keep you as a supplier. 

So as such many small companies which might supply large companies are reluctant to try and pass-on their costs to the larger companies for fear of losing significant business contracts.

Back around the year 2,000 or sometime like that Toyota, as the story goes or is suggested Toyota decided not increase the wages of its employees as it wanted to be competitive with the up and coming Chinese firms. As such most or many other Japanese companies did the same thing and didn't increase wages, which might have been the beginning of the deflation era in Japan.

So most likely as Toyota is going to increase wages most likely most of many of the large companies are going increase their wages too. And the reason is, as there is a supposed labor shortage in Japan other companies don't want their existing employees quitting and moving to another company, so companies increase their wage as a way to keep their existing employees.

Only a company, with the financial resources like Toyota, can afford to pay the wage increase as listed and certainly the annual bonus of 7.3 months' pay, which many other companies except a few of the large companies can afford to do.

Of course many or most of the 90 percent of the small business in Japan just don't have the needed resources to pay the kind of wage increases that Toyota or even Honda can as they can only do so much, which means some or many of the employees who work at the small companies in Japan, potentially might be looking for a way to move to a larger companies that pays more.

Even though both Honda and Suzuki might not be able to really afford to give wage increases of 18,500 and 20,500 yen, they are weary of losing employees to Toyota or any other company as again there is a supposed labor shortage and companies just cant afford to lose talented employees, so they increase the wages as as way to try and keep their employees.

Nissan has been struggling ever since the Ghosn situation and hasn't been able to move forward and has to restructure for the last couple of year, even closing some of its plants in Japan and globally too.

At the same time, Nissan probably can't afford to give any kind of wage increase but it too is weary of losing employees to Toyota, Honda, or even Suzuki, so they try to give some kind of wage increase to try and keep their employees happy or try to keep a lot of them from quitting and moving to another company.

 What is the reason that major Japanese companies are now giving hefty wage increases, when even three years ago most companies were not giving needed wage increases. Is it because Toyota has decided to give wage increases so everyone as usual is following the lead of Toyota. 

Is it because of the headed suggestions of the Japanese government to increase wages due to the continued inflation situation in Japan that has seemingly stalled consumer spending.

Or is there another reason that is not fully understood as for whatever reason Japanese companies, after many years of not so good wage increases have finally decided, in the interest of society, to give wage increases that actually help their employees and not just looking out for stockholders if they are publicly traded company.

It must be remembered, that for a very long time, as suggested by other news and research articles, that many Japanese companies have been sitting on huge sums of cash and not using it when they could have used some of their cash holdings for increased wages hikes for their employees.

Part of the reason, as suggested again by research articles, that after the 2008 global financial crisis many companies actually became very risk adverse and were were very afraid to spend anything but just the bare minimum as some or many were thinking they might be next on the chopping block.

Mazda and JAL are two companies in the past that were near extinction, or at least near the point of not being that well off, but both have come back from the brink and now are maybe more solvent than many other companies, and they had no problem meeting the demands of their labor unions and were quick the agree to increases in wages for their employees.

The Japanese steal sector is not doing so well now as they are feeling the affects of increased competition from Chinese steal makers and as usual, unfortunately, sometimes Japanese companies are slow to respond or don't know how to respond to the competition, as as a resulted they are unable or unwilling to meet their union demand for needed wage increases for their employees.

Yes, there might be solid progress for some companies but are the wage increases going to be enough for all companies including the 70 percent of workers who work for the small and mid-size companies in Japan.

But unfortunately, its always good of course to be positive, but in a market economy growth and wealth distribution doesn't always spread to ever corner of a market economy or society, even though that might be the goal it rarely happens that way these days.

And again, while the large name-brand Japanese companies might be getting large wage increases and even large bonuses in May and Nov. its always a challenge for the small and mid-size companies, the non-regular and even part-time workers in Japan to get something that might resemble a living wage where they can actually pay their bills on time.

Unfortunately, small and mid-size companies in Japan just don't have the needed resources to give the wage increases that 70 percent of the Japanese workforce needs and of course they might not be satisfied with their wage increase and then not spend much of it in the Japanese economy.

The Bank of Japan of course is watching very carefully what is going on in the Japanese economy related to wage increases and inflation but at the same time is watching very carefully what is happening in the Middle East with the oil situation.

Japan is a resource-poor country and as such as to import much or all of its energy needs which means its subject to whims of global energy and oil prices which of course are not out of control, and as such could significantly affect what the BOJ does in the future.

A 5 percent wage increase might be good but will it help the average Japanese household begin to spend again or enough in the Japanese economy to increase economic growth. Consumers have to feel to good about their wage increases and if they don't feel its enough they are not going spend as needed to increase growth.

Japanese households or Japanese consumers, for the most part, have been known to be more savers instead of spenders like consumers in the US. So will Japanese households save their wage increase or spend some of it in the economy as needed to help economic growth.

Rengo has set good and noble goal of a 6 percent increase in wages but do the small and mid-size companies in Japan actually have the needed resources for a 6 percent wage increase as most of the small and mid-size companies might not have the profit margins needed to increase wages by that much.

So yes, up to 70 percent of the Japanese workforce works for small and mid-size companies and not the large name-brand companies in Japan which means, unfortunately, its possible that a larger portion of the workers in Japan are not going to see increases in their disposable incomes or their purchasing power enough to increase spending for economic growth in the Japanese economy.

Have a nice day!

Japan Businesses and Wage Hikes: Updated March 4, 2026.

60% of businesses in Japan plan wage hikes this spring: survey

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260227/p2a/00m/0bu/019000c

Ideas:
Its good more companies in Japan are going to increase wages but at 60 percent its still too low as the other 40 percent of workers at companies not going to increase wages will still have lower disposable incomes and less purchasing power to spend in the Japanese economy which desperately needs domestic Japanese consumers to spend.

It should be remember that up to 70 percent, as suggested by some, don't work for the large name brand companies in Japan but for small and mid-size companies which may or may not have the needed resources and profit margins to increase wages, even if they wanted too.

So, again, while an increase of 60 percent at these large companies is good, but are some of the small and midi-size companies too going to increase wages for their workers just like those in large companies?

Yes, the key seems to be can wages increase more than inflation or price increases as it seems some or many wage increases are not enough to put the average Japanese household or consumer above the inflation threshold which means their disposable incomes will continue to be less than needed to see any any real increase in consumer spending in the Japanese economy in the future.

Of course, unfortunately, many large companies now are publicly owned companies which means they are controlled by a board of directors and are subject to the whims of some or many stockholders who only think about their quarterly earnings and could car less about the the real stakeholders of the company meaning the day to day workers to actually make things happen in most companies.

Japan's system of payment is a little different than the US payment system as US wages and salaries are much higher while the Japanese wage and salary system is much lower but the Japanese system relies heavily on large bonuses offered in Nov. or Dec. and again around May or before the traditional a week long holiday period called Golden Week which is usually the first week of May.

At the same time bonuses can be as much as 2 to 3 months of wages offered twice a year in Japan. So while Japan salaries look much less than US salaries if you add in the bonuses the wages are equal but at the same time much better than first perceived.

Whether positive or negative many Japanese companies like most or many global companies have become more westernized using western style ideas for either human resource needs and or wage and salary needs.

Many years ago Japanese companies were known for taking care of their workers as they were regarded as the stakeholders of the companies and were regarded as valuable members of the company.

Those ideas have  been eroded over the last 30 plus year, as again, whether good or not so good western ideas have crept into the thinking of many Japanese companies.

So, now as up to 70 to 60 percent of Japanese companies are going to increase wages its possible that some or many Japanese companies are trying to get to the idea that their workers are the real stakeholders and they need to take care of their workers.

And yes, some or many Japanese companies see the need to increase wages as they know their is a supposed labor shortage in Japan and these days and its much easier for workers to leave one company and work for another companies due the other company offering a higher wage, which Japanese workers desperately need now.

For too long, unfortunately, industries that have consistently had lower wages were identified by workers and society and people either didn't want to work for them or couldn't afford to work for them due the low profit margins of some companies which just couldn't afford to pay higher wages.

And as such there appears to be some real labor shortages in some sectors such as the transportation sector, maybe even the services sector and even those who can only afford to pay the required minimum wage.

To be a little positive here maybe the 11.8 percent who are not going increase wages is because maybe they already have wages at high enough level that they are not worried of losing any or too many workers and or they are confident that they can attract new workers with current wages they have now.

But again, as always, small Japanese companies, especially the smallest of the smallest, just don't have the needed resources or the needed profit margins to increase wages and unfortunately they are at risk form losing their workers and even all loss of one or two workers can have devastating effects on their small companies.

The Japanese government needs to step in and find ways to help these companies as its suggested or estimated that up to 45 percent of companies in Japan have less than 20 workers and they can easily be affected by the loss of workers who quit and more to work for another company that can afford to pay higher wages. 

Yes, some companies might be thinking this year it's OK to increase wages but in future years it might not be possible to increase wages. Of course there is a gap between companies that are financially strong and those that are struggling , but whether good or not so good, that is the way of a market economy where some will always do better and some will unfortunately always do less than good. 

Of course income growth needs to outpace inflation but it might not be what companies are able to control exactly as the weak Japanese yen, increasing raw material costs, increasing logistic and supply chain costs, and now with the latest global conflicts energy, gas, and oil prices are set in increase again.

Have a nice day!

Japan Bankruptcies: Updated Dec. 17, 2025.

Japan bankruptcies likely to surpass 10,000 in 2025 for 2nd straight year

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20251208/p2g/00m/0bu/026000c

Ideas
There are two ways to looks at the corporate bankruptcies in Japan. One might be that bankruptcies are a normal part of the market system where supply and demand determines which companies survive and which companies go out of business.

The other way to look at the bankruptcy situation in Japan is companies are made up of people and Japanese households and people are losing their jobs and putting people out of work. Yes, they might get unemployment benefits, but in most countries outside of the Northern European countries don't pay enough unemployment benefits.

There are also some possibilities for the increase in corporate bankruptcies such the continued inflation situation in Japan, the continued increase in raw material costs, the continued labor shortage in Japan which might be affecting small and mid-size companies more than large name-brand companies which probably have enough resources overcome all of the negative factors.

Small businesses and in particular maybe service type of companies have few resources and thinner profits margins than larger companies or even mid-size companies. As inflation continues it takes its toll on small companies and as wages increase in Japan, small companies can't pay the wages that their current staff wants and needs and they can't pay the wages that new workers might want, so they not only lose worker, who go to other companies, but they can't hire new workers for their companies.

Yes, as suggested, as suggested the services sector has very thin profits margins and any increase in raw material prices and or wage increase expectations places a service company under a lot of stress and as again as wages increase and raw material prices increase it compounds for time, and eventually companies just go out of business since they can't do anything to solve the situation.

But then again, some might say this is part of the normal business cycle where some companies thrive and some companies just don't make it. And then there is the idea of maybe just too many companies in a specific market and the bankruptcies is leveling out the market to where there is more equilibrium in the market and prices can get back to some kind of normalcy.

Yes the weak Japanese yen might have something to do with the bankruptcies as the weak Japanese yen increases the price of imports, which are then passed-on by importers and wholesalers to the next in the supply chain and in this case small companies which can't control what they need to buy, or can't find substitutes, which have increased prices too, and then of course the final retail customer.

Japan is very much a resource-poor country and has to import much of what it needs including the raw materials needed to make food products in Japan. 

Whatever the reason for the bankruptcies they unfortunately affect Japanese households and families and whatever the Japanese government can do to help these unfortunate families is needed here.

Have a nice day!

BOJ and Wage Trend: Updated Sept. 19, 2025.

BOJ to release wage trend data from 2027 in Tankan survey

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20250911/p2g/00m/0bu/046000c

Ideas

It seems there are already a lot of surveys related to all kinds of activities in Japan by almost every organization conceivable but I guess the Bank of Japan wants its own survey to feel most secure and reliable about the wage data.

It's possible, but not conceivable, that the surveys coming from the labor and company organizations could be slightly off or are padded to make the wage information look better than it really is. 

For example, as wages for small and mid-size companies are always a little suspect as they are less than large company salary increases they could be made to look better as way to show that that companies are increasing wages which a lot when reality it might not be that much of a wage increase.

Yes, not all companies cooperate in surveys as they might feel embarrassed with the wage increases they are giving their workers and or want or need to be secretive about their wages for competitive reasons.

At the same time it might not be easy to get some companies to cooperate as they might not have the resources needed to reply to a survey from an organization.

It's the small and mid-size companies that need to most help with wage increases and it would be in their best interest to cooperate so that government organizations can plan ways to help them, otherwise government and other organizations are in the dark about small and mid-size companies situations.

Data information is good and needed but will it influence companies to increase wages which is sorely needed in Japan to help the economy grow and combat continued inflation.

If other companies see that wages are increasing the might be less hesitant to increase wages for their employees too.

But at the same time, some or many small and mid-size companies just don't have the resources needed to match what other companies are doing.

And with there being a real labor shortage in Japan now some might want to increase wages to keep or get new employees but they just don't have the resources needed to do it.

The June survey and the December survey goals seem very good but what's to keep some companies from not giving the correct information as a way to look good in the eyes of the BOJ.

There is always a chance, as with any survey, that the survey participants will not fully comply with the survey and will make it look better for them.

Small firms are always having difficulty with keeping up with bigger ones and its not just in Japan its a global situation as the large companies, globally always have more resources than the smaller companies.

But maybe in Japan its even more pronounced as their is always a huge gap between the haves, the large companies, and the have nots, the small and mid-size companies due to a huge gap in resources.

The tariff situation is definitely going to affect Japanese companies, which ultimately will affect Japanese consumers but when will it really be seen. It could begin September or the 3rd quarter as the new tariff rates go into effect.

And then there is the Bank of Japan having to decide what do to as the US Federal Reserve just cut its rate, due the US economy slowing and job growth really slowing which means whenever the US reserve cuts or increases it rate central banks globally begin to look and decide if they will follow with a rate cut just not at this time.

And yes, inflation in Japan is above the 2 percent goal for inflation in Japan, which  is actually the goal of many central banks to keep inflation around 2 percent as they feel its a manageable level and shows an economy is moving enough for economic growth but not too much.

Have a nice day!

Japan Business Sentiment: Updated Sept. 12, 2025.

Japan firms' mood turns positive as tariff fears ease: gov't survey

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20250911/p2g/00m/0bu/026000c

Ideas

Japanese businesses have not had much to be positive about in recent months so maybe they see a little daylight at the end of the tunnel now with the improved tariff situation.

Japan in recent years, as lost a lot of market share to both Taiwan and South Korea related to semiconductor chips.

Unfortunately the Japanese economy has not been that robust and mostly has been stagnant for a very long time and it really doesn't look that good for the future.

Probably back in the April-June quarter there wasn't much to be positive about as the Trump tariffs were given in April and probably made most business exporters in Japan stressed.

An improvement doesn't mean much if companies don't do anything but its a good indication they think sales and profits are not going to be as affected as much from the tariffs, and they might improve their investments and hope to improve their exports, globally, and the US.

Sometimes it only takes some improved sentiment or an improved positive outlook for businesses and the economy to start growing again.

An economy is very complex with many different sectors and all of those sectors are not going to be all positive or even all negative as there is always going to be a mix of both positive and negative in an economy depending on companies circumstances.

It seems this time there are more positive that negative but again we don't know the exact numbers as it could 51 percent positive and 49 percent negative which is really not that much of a different between both,which means business sentiment, while improved still needs to improve more, if possible.

Japan is a heavy manufacturing economy compared to the US and the EU which have shifted more to a services and technology focused economies.

And yes, due to the tariffs, Japanese manufacturing is not going to be as positive as the non-manufacturing sector in Japan which is probably more focused on the domestic economy.

Japan, it seems for too long Japan has been focused on manufacturing while most economies, other than China, have  moved on from manufacturing and moved to a more balanced economy of some manufacturing, some services, and some technologies.

Normally, large major companies have more resources and can outlast most negatives in an economy except for of course normal market situations.

The problem is that small and mid-size companies don't have enough resource to outlast any major economic situations such as the tariff situation which is going to stress out many as they just don't have the needed resources to handle any real shocks in the economy.

Even though there were 11,000 companies that responded, and again, maybe not all of the 11,000 were 100 percent positive about the future of the economy or what is happening now with the tariff situation.

Again it could be 5,501, that were positive, and 4,999 that were negative about the future of the economy as it depends on each company's circumstances. 

These days, no economy is a buy only from the home country idea, but T and his ideas just don't match what is happening in the global economy these days. 

There are many many Japanese cars in the US as US consumers prefer a choice and not really interested in just a few car manufacturing models made in the US only.

The Japanese economy, while heaving dependent on exports and manufacturing have yet to find an new or different economic model or economic driver to growth its economy as technology companies and services, while improved in Japan haven't really turned into needed economic drivers to help with economic growth.

Small companies in Japan have been stress out for a very long time as they don't have enough resources to overcome all of the negatives that exists for them.

And ever since the pandemic they have faced increased raw material costs, increased energy costs and now and even before labor challenges related to the labor shortage and many Japanese workers wanting to work for large name-brand companies, which reduce the chances of getting good workers at small Japanese companies.

As a result small company profit margins have become too thin and they don't have any room to increase wages or even increase the minimum wage needed to hire good workers for their companies.

So there is no surprise that small Japanese companies are pessimistic and probably will continue to be pessimistic for a very long time.

Have a nice day!

Japan Ideas: Updated Aug. 28, 2025

Firms believing Japan economy growing falls to 30% amid tariff woes

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20250810/p2g/00m/0bu/026000c

Ideas
The Japanese economy never grows that much or that fast and now with the tariff situation it might grow even slower.

Japanese companies might have to re-set what they think is good economic growth and or communicate to their stockholders that earnings as before are not going to be the same.

And companies, if they are thinking of absorbing the tariff costs, can only do it for so long before their profit margins begin to suffer and they have to pass-on the tariff costs to the next in the supply chain.

Surveys are good and needed and important but they don't tell the whole story as companies are made up of people and people can change their minds as the business environment can change quickly sometimes.

It also must be remembered that companies who are doing good during the survey might think the economy is good while those companies that aren't doing good might think the economy is not doing so good.

The Japanese economy has been flat for a very long time with little or very little economic growth, as the past 30 years have shown.

Solid business performance is always needed and good but it might take Japanese companies to be more creative and even begin to innovate so that productivity is the real economic driver for Japanese economies.

Companies that rely on normal, business as usual business activities might be left behind in the new global trade situation that has been created.

It can no longer be business as usual for Japanese companies and they can't rely on old practices to keep them afloat as they need to find ways to innovate and allow innovation to be the the key economic driver for them.

Yes, the global economy is in a new-normal and Japanese companies will need to find ways to grow and even find ways to adapt and change to the new global economy.

Nothing stays the same in business or the real world and the sooner Japanese companies find ways to adapt, innovate, stay ahead of the curve the sooner they can get back to being titans of the global economy like they were many years ago.

At one time Japan had some of the largest companies in the world but somewhere along the way they lost their way and now only Toyota is listed as a top global company.

For a long time many Japanese companies were reluctant to increase prices and they felt their customers would not like it so they absorbed cost increases for many years.

But those days are long gone as company profit margins have shrank and stockholders are demanding a prescribed level of profits each quarter.

And yes, the labor shortage has forced companies to increase wages for existing employees and to get new employees to work for them in the future.

It has been suggested that for a long time Japanese companies were sitting on large sums of money and not really paying their employees the wages that were needed to help the Japanese economy grow.

So maybe now, finally, Japanese companies have decided that to grow the economy and grow their business are equally beneficial pursuits.

Again, while the wage increases are needed and good they can't make up for the number of years that companies gave either very low wage increases or no wage increases at all.

It all adds up with a synergy effect taking place after too many years of low wage increases and or no wage increases at all affecting the Japanese economy.

And again, that 5.25 percent wage increase might be considered good by some and maybe that is all some companies can do, but if companies had been giving reasonable wage increases all along maybe the 5.25 percent might have been adequate.

Real wages are very important for the Japanese consumer and of course Japanese workers as it indicates their purchasing power or how much they can really spend in the economy.

The Japanese economy has dug itself into a major hole and it's going to take time to dig its way out and there needs to be even more wage increases for all workers in Japan.

For example up to 70 percent of the Japanese workforce doesn't work for the large name-brand companies but small and mid-size companies that maybe can't afford to pay the same wage increases as the large companies do.

Which means the Japanese economy is kind of stuck with two realities, the haves, the large company workers and the have nots, the small and midsize workers what don't have the same wage increases as their large companies workers do which then means less disposable income left to spend in the Japanese economy, which then means less economic growth in the future.

Have a nice day!

Japan Average Pay Up: Updated July 13, 2025

Japan's average pay ups over 5% for 2nd year in row amid price hikes

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20250703/p2g/00m/0bu/065000c

Ideas

The article mentions or talks about Japanese companies, but wage growth for large companies might have been 5.25 on average but that doesn't mean small and mid-size companies got the same wage increases.

Up to 70 percent of the Japanese workforce works for small and mid-size companies which most likely didn't get 5.25 percent but probably much less.

With that 70 percent of the workforce has to continue to get less disposable income even more than the large companies employees.

Which again means less spending in the Japanese economy as the Japanese economy can't really grow if Japanese consumers don't feel good about their bonuses.

The per capita income of Japanese households is now one of the lowest among advanced economies when at one time was one of the highest.

An economy, as big as Japan's can't sustain itself with the levels of debt it has and the low leaves of spending due to a lack of needed wage increases.

Japan, if it isn't already, is about to become a country an economy of haves, the large companies, and the have-nots, the small and mid-size companies, with income inequality increasing every year.

Many small and mid-size companies just don't have the resources needed to give the same kind of wage increases as what large companies give.

If inflation being so rampant in Japan and hasn't lasted as long as it has maybe then the less than 5 percent wage increases that small and mid-size companies give might actually be enough to help 70 percent of the Japanese workforce and might actually begin to spend more in the Japanese economy.

As some articles have suggested not only are small and mid-size companies unable increase wages and they are unable to attract needed workers but some are beginning to file for bankruptcy as they can't find the workers they need to run their companies.

All economies need to see wage increases and it fuels consumer spending as consumers feel good about the extra income they get and then begin to spend more in an economy.

But the challenge is the Japanese economy has been down for so long it might take years for Japanese consumers to really feel good about their wage increase and finally begin to spend enough again to help the economy.

Again, just like large company workers, not all Japanese workers work for the unions in Japan and it might be about the same ratio of 30 percent, maybe less work for unions in Japan and up to 70 percent that don't work for unions in Japan which means again, small and mid-size company workers might have received much less in summer bonuses.

According to the latest estimate only about 16.5 percent of the Japanese workforce works for unions which means that up to 84 percent of the Japanese workforce might not have received a summer bonus the size that the union workers got.

So whatever the rest of the Japanese workforce got in summer bonuses, some Japanese consumers might save some if it, some might use it to pay bills, some might use it to go on summer trips and some spend some of it in the economy.

Finally the key is to get inflation to slow down or at trend downward so that Japanese consumers have more disposable income and to finally begin to feel good about how much they have left over and can begin to spend again to help the Japanese economy grow.

Japan can't completely rely on foreign tourism, which is at record levels to help the economy as it needs domestic consumers too to spend again to help grow the Japanese economy again.

Have a nice day!

Japan's Global Future: Ideas Later: Updated April 18, 2025

'Firms asleep at the wheel won't survive': Biz leaders sound alarm on Japan's global decline

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20250404/p2a/00m/0bu/051000c

Ideas:

Back in the day, in the 50's, 60's, 70's, and 80's Japan CEO's used to be risk takers, but these days its like Japan has lost is swagger and in many companies or CEO's or Japanese company employees are afraid to take risks.

Of course back then it might have been easier to take risks, but again these days company people are afraid to take risks for fear of failure and or losing their jobs.

The same can be said for South Korea too as it seems they have become a nation of adverse risk takers for fear of failure there.

It's good to see and know what is going on, but will companies in Japan adapt to new technologies and will they have the desire and need to do it, and will their workers adapt to the changes needed to remain competitive globally.

Not to be too critical but it seems many Japanese companies have adopted a Japan only mindset and they are not looking to advance their business globally, such a Japanese smartphones, which doesn't seem to have much market share in any major global areas besides Japan.

Entrepreneurs like Kutaragi, are almost non-existent in Japan these days as again, there just don't seem to be many risk takers at the major Japanese companies anymore. It might not be employees fault as maybe some Japanese companies might not encourage innovation or risk taking instead telling their workers to just do your job as is and don't make waves or think too much.

Maybe many Japanese CEO's or even Japanese company employees might have good ideas but they aren't being turned into real products or services for whatever reason. 

No doubt Japan has not lost its edge in thinking about new products and services but for whatever reason they aren't reaching the marketplace. 

The global world is moving so fast, that unfortunately, even the best and brightest companies can fade away if they don't stay vigilant to what is going on globally.

There might still be some traditional Japanese companies that were great years ago, but these days they barely make any noise in the market place, and its very sad to see.

And yes, there are some Japanese companies that are far ahead and those companies will be part of the global marketplace now and in the future.

Yes, Japanese products at one time were the envy of the world, and the US even tried to make a quasi trade war because Japanese products were eating the lunch of US products which weren't even in the same universe. 

After that came the South Korean products and Samsung, LG, and Hyundai, and now there are the Chinese products which are beating down the door of global markets. 

So where are the Japanese products now. Are there any in the top 5 or even top 10 of products within their categories.

Those companies were innovators and risk takers which unfortunately there are few these days in Japan or at least few that have ground-breaking ideas or innovations that can compete on the global stage.

For example, back into the 1980's it seemed like everyone in the US had a Sony trinitron color TV or a Japanese DVD player to record TV programs. Those were the days when Japan products were sweeping the US and leaving US products in their dust.

Visiting Yodobashi Camera, a major Japanese electronics store, there seems to be thousands of appliance products on display but how many of them are really able to compete on the global stage. They all look good and maybe they are but these days just being good is not good enough for the global market place.

Then there is the idea of looking at all of the products on display, do Japanese companies, in the domestic market just continue to manufacture without regard to demand or sales

Again all great products back in the day but again what about now. Are there any Japanese products in the top 5 or even top 10 these days in the global marketplace.

Japan might have been number one back in the day but again they lost their swagger and or became too became lazy and or lost their focus and have never gotten it back. 

Maybe back in the 50's 60's, 70's and 80's Japanese companies were hungry and were driven because they felt ashamed because of WW11 and wanted to prove something to the world, which they did by creating ground-breaking products, but again somewhere along the way they lost their focus.

Yes, in 1989 Japan was at the top of the world and there was even talk that they might pass the US, but then  Japanese bubble burst and the rest is history. 

Japan has never really recovered from the 1989 bust and maybe it took away all of Japan's confidence, and or the new generation of CEO's just didn't have the same vision or drive that the older generation CEO's did.

It might be that Japan companies didn't really lose their vision but many other global companies just entered the race and passed Japan and Japan has not been able to keep up for whatever reason.

To be a little more positive here, maybe, again, Japan companies have always had ideas and or some kind of vision but what they lost or didn't have is the correct vision for the future which other companies were able to capture and produce the products that the global marketplace wanted and needed.

So again, all of those Japanese companies listed above that were global leaders have now been pushed aside as their ideas haven't kept up with others in the global marketplace.

Now to be more exact, maybe many Japanese companies have lost their ability to innovate new products and services and or the products and services they have produced just haven't resonated in the global marketplace.

Yes, Sony was the leader in many products in the 70's and 80's and maybe some in the 90's but when the Internet hit the global stage maybe Japan wasn't ready to transform as fast or as quick as other economies or companies were able to do.

Maybe Sony felt, because of there ranking among global companies back in the day they would just coast along and didn't really need to transform into a 21st century company like many companies were doing.

At the same time the speed of change it the 90's took over and many companies globally had to learn to pickup up the pace and transform but maybe Sony and some other Japanese companies just didn't feel they needed to move that fast.

Yes, the Sony Walkman was a ground breaking product and revolutionized many things which might have been a motivator for Steve Jobs to create the products that Apple did.

Again, if you go to a Yodobashi Camera electronics store, Apple has its own floor with all of its products on display but no where are the Sony products, except in specific product areas.

And Apple computers such as the I Mac or even the I phone are the most popular products now in Japan, and again the Sony products are, for the most part, no where to be seen.

But even in the US, there are many products and companies that have been like Sony as they failed to innovate and or became too complacent and didn't see what the future held and yes, they became lazy because of their overconfidence.

For example the late Peter Drucker, the world famous business consultant used to say if your product is not number one or number two, are you going to stay in the market.

That might be a little extreme but it makes a point as companies and products are always in a state of flux and never stagnant.

It looks like or seemed like Hirai might have been following some of Drucker's advice to get rid of products and divisions that were not number one or number two or at least having a significant impact in the global market.

And to be fair to Peter Drucker, when he was at his peak in the US, there were many US companies who didn't follow his advice. So he traveled to Japan for a series of lectures and the the Japanese companies were hungry for his ideas and they ate it up and used his ideas to propel them to number one in term of making products for the global marketplace.

Hirai did what he had to do in order for Sony to survive. If not Sony might have drifted away and just became another dinosaur of a company in Japan.

Unfortunately there might be many Japanese companies like Sony was as some call them Zombie companies, only existing but not living not growing.

The problem has always been that these companies employ people and people's lives depend on these companies and it is hard to just fire or layoff a lot of workers just to cut expenses in a company.

The difference, for a long time between US companies and Japanese companies is that Japanese companies considered their employees as stakeholders and a very important part of the company, while US companies considered shareholders as being the most important group.

That is one of the main reasons that Japan companies liked Peter Drucker was that  Drucker emphasized that people were very important to the company and a resource, while US companies did't pay attention to that he said about people.

The fear of failure is in many sectors and industries these days,  as employees are only thinking about survival and not thinking about innovation or risk taking.

It seems, sometimes, it seems the entire nation of Japan has given up and don't think they can ever make a difference again. 

Its probably not their fault as everywhere around them there is complacency and the just survive mindset that affects everyone.

Hirai is correct, but to get people to change or even an entire country to change is a big task that doesn't happen overnight.

Maybe it seems that Japanese companies or those in Japanese companies feel they can't compete on the global stage so why should they try. For example, the see Chinese companies moving onto the global stage and maybe they feel they can't keep up so the are content to just do business in Japan.

At the same time, maybe some or many Japanese companies, because they feel they can no longer compete on the global stage like Japanese companies did back in the day, they are resigned to just being in the Japanese domestic market and not even trying to trying to make a mark in the global marketplace.

Maybe because there is so much competition from South Korea and China now, many Japanese companies have given up and just focus on the Japanese domestic economy.

Again just look at Samsung from South Korea and the Chinese smartphone companies and of course the I phone from the US. But where are the Japanese smartphone companies are the global stage or are they just content to focus on the Japanese domestic economy and or have given up trying to compete on the global stage now.

For whatever reason Fast Retailing, Uniqlo and GU were able to find the right vision and strategies to compete on the global stage. That can't be said about other Japanese companies as they don't seem to have any kind of global vision or strategies today to compete against others in their area.

 The Fast Retailing president is getting up there in age and how long will he lead Fast Retailing and will be future president have the same vision that he has and will Fast Retailing be as successful as it is now.

Back in the day, in the 50's, 60's. 70's, and 80's Japanese company CEO's had  a global orientation but today that seems long gone.

A Japan-only mindset is good for business in Japan but it won't help companies today compete on the global stage as they need a different mindset and different strategies to thrive and survive on the global stage.

Where have all the major Japanese electronic companies gone  who were major players on the global stage back in the day. They seemed to have just slumped back to the Japanese domestic economy where there might be less competition and less stress for them these days.

GDP, while important and certainly still a viable measure, its not that accurate to describe or even define what is really going on in an economy these days.

What is happening on he ground level in Japanese companies and Japanese society is the real economy and yes, GDP can be an illusion to what is really happening in an economy and especially the Japanese economy.

India is an up and coming country and will soon surpass Japan and the reason for the decrease of Japan can easily attributed to very few Japanese companies now competing on the global stage as it seems most of them have shrunk back to the domestic economy where is safe for them.

Yes, that is why, again, India is going to surge ahead of Japan soon as they have a lot of companies that are now competing on the global stage while Japan has very few if any except Toyota.

Some have said, a few years ago, maybe longer, that Japan is content with being like Switzerland and doesn't really want to compete on the global stage anymore and Japanese people have reached a level of contentment and don't need or want to compete anymore.

But the problem with that thinking is an economy is never stagnant and it either moves forward or it moves backward, and it appears Japan is moving backward, away from the global stage.

For whatever reason, many Japanese companies, especially old-line Japanese traditional companies are slow to change or slow to react and they just want to keep things the way they have always been.

For example, many Japanese companies rely on the fax machine and some of course now use email, but how many companies in the US or the EU use the fax machine these days. 

And then there the idea of face to fact meetings which are still important in Japan as yes, some have moved to online or remote meetings using Zoom or Microsoft Teams, but some Japanese companies have been resistant and insist on face to face meeting with other companies or clients.

It's going to be hard to change the mindset of the current senior level managers in Japan as most of them are in their 70's or even 80's. It's going to take a completely new set of CEO managers to come in with a completely new paradigm or mindset to really change things, in Japan and hopefully it won't be too late.

But even then, most likely, the new leadership among Japanese company CEO's might not want to rock the boat and unfortunately things might not change at all.

Yes, transform or decline, but it seems Japan companies have not seen the writing on the wall and continue to do business as usual.

But to be fair, there might be some or many companies that know they need to change but change could be very expensive and time consuming too.

Only time will tell if Japan is willing to change and finally move into the 21st century or remain a dinosaur in the 20th century.

Have a nice day!