Japan's Real Wages: Updated August 7, 2025

Japan's real wages fall 1.3% in June despite summer bonuses

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20250806/p2g/00m/0bu/012000c

Ideas

It should be remembered that 70 percent of the Japanese workforce are not working at large Japanese companies but rather small and mid-size companies that maybe don't have the resources to pay large summer bonuses.

What sometimes happens, in many economies is as inflation continues on wages too will begin to increase as money flows through the economy but Japan is in a completely different universe and normal economic idea are not working.

Inflation can be both positive and negative depending on other factors in the economy such as the movement of money and the interest rate at the time.

And again, as mentioned 70 percent of the Japanese economy is not large companies but small and mid-size companies that probably don't have the resources to pay the same wage increases as large companies or even the same bonuses as large companies, which means inflation for many in the Japanese economy could still be higher the the wage increases of some or many.

All of the data that is given in this article is good but a better question might be what was the average wage increase for small and mid-size companies and what kind of summer bonuses did small and mid-size companies get during the past year.

Everyone wants to talk about large Japanese companies like they are the back-bone of the Japanese which they aren't as small and mid-size economy actually drive the economy even more.

Wage increases of course are very important, for the Japanese economy, and for every economy but what needs to be included in article discussions is what is happening with the small and mid-size companies in Japan as it seems they are being left behind and not getting the wage increases needed to help Japanese families not to mention the need to grow the economy.

Nominal data is useless for the average Japanese household as it includes wages plus inflation which distorts the actual actual purchasing power of consumers in the Japanese economy. Nominal data is like a fantasy of what you might think is good but in reality is a distortion.

Every recent Prime Minister has said they are going to increase wages but the wage increases so far hasn't really been completely significant for the average Japanese household just yet.

The challenge is wages in Japan, in relation to other OECD economies has been decreasing for the past three decades and its just been the past two years that wage have finally began to increase enough to maybe just maybe Japanese workers can finally begin to see some daylight at the end of the long three decade tunnel.

Interest rate increases can be a positive and a negative factor in an economy such for the banking system they can be a positive but at the same time can be a negative.

For the average business they can a negative in that loans will now be more expensive and especially for small business who need loans to maybe get their inventory orders it can be a major negative for them.

For household their mortgage payments could increase along with interest rates on the use of credit cards too.

But at the same time increasing they key interest can be an incentive for an economy to slow down which in effect could potentially reduce inflation.  

But again the Japanese economy, for many reasons has been exactly operating on sound economic factors and a key rate increase by the Bank of Japan might not work and could be for of a negative than a positive. Only time will tell.

Have a nice day

Editorial : The Japanese Economy and Inflation: Updated October 29, 2024.

Editorial: Japan's parties must provide fresh economic vision for inflation-hit populace

Article Source:  Article deleted by mistake:

Ideas:

But at the same time, prices continue to remain high for many many months in Japan, as there doesn't seem to much hope for Japanese households get back back to some kind of normalcy.

Japanese households are struggling, and it seems like, of course maybe not true, but the Japanese Diet, doesn't seems to be in touch with with the average Japanese household, as most of them are probably very rich or close to it.

Wages might have have increased at a rate not seen in 33 years, but it must be remembered, that 70 percent of Japanese wage earners don't work for large Japanese companies, and the small and mid-size companies might not have gotten the same wage increase as the large company workers.

Yes, as the article suggests, its only the large company workers who got the wage increases, and as usual everyone else including up to 40% of the workforce didn't see the wage increases.

But unfortunately, that might be global, as large company workers worldwide enjoy the benefits of the market economy, while everyone else might not see the same benefits.

Non-regular workers, again, which makeup 40% of the work force because companies are cutting costs and not highering full-time full benefit workers, as even Japanese companies have gone to western style governance and trying to keep the stockholder happy, and not really thinking about its workers.

Its very unfortunate that companies try to take advantage of workers, while maybe giving them a wage increase, but then cutting their hours to keep their costs down. Its very immoral and unethical that the only thing they think about is the bottom line and not the welfare of their workers.

Of course they probably know she is not going to complain and that might cause her to lose her job or have her hours cut even more.

This situation with the family with two young children is very sad, and Japan used to be known, somewhat as a rich country, but not any more, as there might be many young families in Japan like this that are barely getting by if even that.

Most likely, maybe Japanese companies, in reducing costs and being more like western-style companies they have gone too far in cutting costs, as at one time, maybe before the asset bubble crash of 1989, companies took care of the workers and paid wages that didn't put families in despair.

Its seems obvious that the Japanese government either doesn't know what do to about the situation and or they can't care about the 40% of workers who might be non-regular workers as that is a large portion of the workforce, but because of increased expenses and low wages they are not really participating in the Japanese economy.

If 40% of the Japanese workers in the workforce are non-regular workers, again, that is a large group of workers that don't have a voice in the economy, by that meaning they don't buy like large company workers in the Japanese economy, and no wonder consumer spending in the Japanese economy is never where it should be.

All politicians, globally, always promise many things but hardly ever really follow up on their campaign pledges, 

At one time, Japan might have been headed toward being like some Northern European countries, with a large share of its population somewhat well-off, but those days seem to be long gone, as now maybe even some up and coming developing countries have surpassed Japan in terms of its population being somewhat above the poverty line and well off.

But to be fair, Japan is still a somewhat rich country, but at the same time its inequality has grown more and more since the asset bubble crash of 1989.

There might be a significant number of Japanese now living at or near the poverty line despite the image of a rich country.

Japan has an ageing population problem and yes, they need to keep the social security situation under control. There might not be any easy solutions to solve the debt problem in Japan, as yes, the sales tax, while not liked by many, might be needed as maybe Japan doesn't have any other possibilities besides the sales tax.

Unfortunately Japan has the highest debt to GDP ratio in the advanced world now, with it getting even bigger with every year.

But the only thing is the debt that Japan has is mostly owned by Japan, and mostly owned but the Bank of Japan, as Japan is not in a place like Greece was in 2010.

So Abenomics and trick-down economic growth didn't work like it should have as the small and mid-size companies didn't see the benefits of Abenomics.

Small and mid-size companies, with good intentions can't help or pay their workers wage increases like the large companies can.

Back before the asset bubble crash of 1989, most likely, many small and mid-size companies had better wages and better benefits maybe even comparable to some large companies, but again, those days are gone. as there are huge gaps, now between small/mid-size companies and large companies in Japan.

Its seems, unfortunately, Japan is spiraling down, more and more, with its income inequality getting larger by the year.

It seems Japanese politicians have no ideas really what is going on and or they really don't know how to solve the challenge that many Japanese households are facing.

It's possible, that Japanese politicians are scared of large Japanese companies as maybe they have too much power now, and don't want to force them to give good wages to the non-regulars workers, which, again, might make up 40% of the Japanese workforce.

All of the above ideas are good and very much needed in Japan as the disparities are huge and can no longer be ignored.

And yes, there will be no real healthy economic growth until the disparities are fixed, but fixing is the challenges will be difficult, as maybe the Japanese politicians don't have the strength the do what is needed for the Japanese economy and society.

Maybe many small and mid-size companies know and feel their employees are struggling but they can't do anything about it as their sales are too low and their costs are too high at this time.

And yes, if the average Japanese workers's anxieties are reduced they might begin to participate more in the Japanese economy with buying more products and even buying more from small and mid-size companies too, but its not going to happens unless the average Japanese feel good about their wages and can see and feel and decrease in their expenses.

South Korea has had the same problem for many years, as the South Korean government, over a period of 5 years or so, implemented increases in the minimum wage, and to help small companies, they gave the subsidies as a way to help them cope with the increased minimum wage.

But the subsidies didn't help that much, as they unfortunately reduced the hours or workers, or didn't hire new workers, or even laid-off workers.

Some even started using more un-manned kiosks in their businesses as a way to reduce labor costs.

Japanese politicians, again, might not have the resolve or strength to do what is needed, as sometimes there are just too many competing factors involved. They might have good intentions with good ideas, but they never are implemented.

And yes, again, most likely many small and even mid-size companies are just getting by, if even that, and they can't handle increased labor costs at this time.

Have a nice day!

Workers and Wage increases; Update July 20, 2024.

 

Only 6% of workers in Japan say wage hike rates larger than price increases: poll

Article Source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240717/p2a/00m/0bu/013000c

Ideas:

The problem is, wage increases are only a one time increase, usually in April, but inflation seems to increase monthly. So even if wage earners might have got a 5% wage increase inflation might have increased monthly, which means inflation most likely, in summary, was more than the 5% percent wage increase.

Part of the problem might go back to the beginning of the 2000's as many companies, back then, didn't give pay increases until maybe 2023.

It must also be remembered, that maybe 70 percent of wage earners in Japan don't work for large name brand companies and work for small and midsize companies, which might not have had a 5% percent increase, but much lower, if any at all.

The respondents in the survey might come from large array of workers in different size companies, and again, small and midsize company workers might not have gotten the same wage increase as large company workers.

Every worker or Japanese household is different and they see pay increases differently according their needs and wants. Some might see the 5% percent, if they got that, as good, while some might see it as not enough that barely covers their monthly expenses, or gives them little or no extra income.

It must be remembered, again, that between April of 2023 and April of 2024, inflation in Japan increased a lot. Even if inflation each month was not that much, if you add up each month, most likely it was more than 5%, which makes the 5% wage increase not so good.

Only 5% of non regular employees said pay increases were larger, which is not that large and not surprising, as maybe many non regular employees might not have gotten a wage increase at all.

But only 7.3% of regular workers said wage increases were enough, which means maybe 86% felt wage increases were not enough compared to increases in inflation.

Most likely those in the 20's and 30's have less financial responsibilities than the older groups and maybe the wage increase gave those in their 20's and 30's more extra income.

And as expected, those in their 50's and 60's with more financial responsibilities felt wage increases were not enough and didn't give them enough extra income compared to price increases.

And yes, as expected, unfortunately, over 70% in the 50's and 60's felt wage increases were not enough to cover the price increases and or didn't increase their extra income.

Yes, the overall wage increases either have not take affect and or Japanese workers, at this time are just sitting on the wage increases and deciding just what to do and maybe many ar still weary of the inflation situation.

For non regular employees its very different story, as they are constantly stressed out by their low wages and or company benefits or a combination of factors.

Yes, some companies might have given good wage increases for non regular workers, but that is not the case with all companies who see non regular workers as just nonessential commodities that can be easily replaced.

The minimum wage situation in Japan, unfortunately like some economies is not so good, as many companies don't want to pay a lot for some workers and they keep the minimum wage low, as companies try to limit their costs.

Have a nice day and be safe!

Japanese Workers Quitting Jobs: Updated July 16, 2024.

 

More Japan workers turning to job resignation services after holidays

Article Source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240513/p2g/00m/0bu/002000c

Ideas:

In a market economy, there are always new innovations, and maybe there are private services now related to helping workers leave their current jobs.

In a way, its unfortunate, that maybe workers are afraid to offer their resignation in person, a as they might feel threatened or harassed for quitting.

Also, at the same time, its possible that many or some recent young graduates, didn't choose the right company and or it wasn't a good fit or them or they were not a good fit for the company.

Japan, for the most part, used to be a country that valued workers as being a important part of the company and they had considerable stakeholder value in the company.

But those days might be long gone, as Japan has transformed in a western style economy, with shareholder value and shareholders being the most important part of a company, and workers are just commodity these days.

If what is said is true, 1,400 customers who had problems related to their current or past company is a major problem.

But at the same time, to be fair to companies, many young workers, again, just can't handle any kind of stress when it comes to real life or real work life situations, which might require deadlines, being on time at work, actually working in the office and being somewhat productive and being responsible when working.

Not to critical, but it seems the younger generations of young workers maybe just can't do same things that the older generations did, but to be fair to the younger workers, why should they, for example, have to sit in company office for 8 or more hours a day if its not working out for them and or they just don't want to do it.

Yes, unfortunately companies miss-represent what the job is/was to be and when a new/young worker starts working at the company they are deeply disappointed with what they are going to do in the company.

Yes, immediate superiors should be more please and be more a people person, but, again, some are not and who knows why they keep working at that company if they are unpleasant to everyone.

But, again,  at the time, it might just be the young worker who can't handle any kind of criticism and or having redo tasks as needed, as some/many young workers have been spoiled from an early age and never had to grow up and be a independent adult too.

So it might not just the a company problem, these days a young worker problem, who just can't adjust to the work world and what companies expect of them.

Its unfortunate that there are bosses like this one who thinks he/she has to be a dictator instead of being more of a people person and treating people with more respect. Most likely he/she was treated the same way when he was a young worker in a company.

Again, unfortunately, companies might be desperate to get new workers, as there is a labor shortage in Japan, and they want to look glamorous and they will do and say things to get young workers into their company, but when the young workers or any worker gets there the situation might be very different.

The younger workers might quit, but the older workers, if in the same situation, might just stay and try to make the best as maybe they don't have many options.

Using Line, or any other app is now very common to get things done and of course it helps streamline tasks and helps workers in many different situations.

Its very unfortunate that there are some tough environments, and or there are some miss-matches between workers and companies, in many cases the company and or the workers didn't research really what the job involved, or the character of the new worker.

And yes, again, a young worker or any worker, if they are on a bad situation and have a choice they should leave that company as soon as possible if they can.

If there are now more than 100 companies offering services that help workers leave their job, that might be sign that either there are many not so good companies and or workers today just can't handle the same stress or not good situations that the previous generations did before and or workers today are not going to put up with not so good companies today.

But again, to be fair to companies, it might not be the company but the worker, and especially the young workers, today, and its a global situation as young workers, globally, expect a different work environment than the older generations had.

Yes, exactly, there might be many mismatches in values between younger workers and companies with old-fashioned cultures and its going to get worse if companies don't change, as the younger workers, these days, are not going to conform to the old-fashioned work cultures. And again its a global problem and not just a Japan work culture problem.

Yes, if a worker needs to be leave, just leave and find a qualified lawyer if the situation is just that bad.

You would think, maybe, if enough young people in a company suddenly quit, then maybe the company would think twice about what it needs to do to get young workers to work for them, and what does the company need to do the keep their young workers.

Because of the labor shortage in Japan, some companies might be getting very desperate and are doing things not considered ethical or legal related to workers wanting to quit.

A company needs to be ethical and do things which are legal, but at the same time, there might be some workers, young and older, who are not ethical and not doing thing correctly in a company.

If a worker knows the company is going to do things, if he/she wants to quit, then its best to just go though the app services and don't say anything to the company, if they can do that, and save them from any negative situations with the company.

Have a nice day and be safe!

Japan End of Year Party Preferences: Updated Feb. 20, 2024.

 

60% of Japanese workers want no part of traditional New Year's office parties: survey

Article Source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20231213/p2a/00m/0na/010000c

Ideas:

What used to be end of the year parties or gatherings, was common in many countries. But now maybe people want to have time on their own and or with their families and don't feel the need to spend more time with those from their office.

Maybe it was almost a mandatory dinner or party meeting where company workers were required and expected to attend. But since the pandemic, or even before, many workplace rituals have been changing as workers look for more work/life balance situations, which means of course less after work meetings and or dinners, and less parties.

Also, in South Korea, for example, because of the "me too" movement, there have been less meetings, dinner parties and after work gatherings, where men and women meet together, as companies shy away from such meetings and dinner parties.

Most likely, now, many workers no longer feel attending after work meetings or dinner parties is a requirement for advancement in the company. It used to be if you didn't attend the parties or dinner meetings, you were not considered advance-able to higher level positions. 

Now those times might be changing as maybe the workplace in Japan is not the center of the universe as people look to home, families, and work/life balance as being as important or more important.

But of course maybe in the old-line traditional Japanese companies, after work meetings, dinner parties, and end of year parties are still very important.

It seems that maybe Japanese workers are now tired of having to go the holiday parties and then again go to New Year parties, within a few weeks in most cases. 

In the US or Europe maybe there are fewer parties, if any, and they are for the most part, voluntary and not a job requirement.

Of course, maybe Japan is, or used to be about formality and end of the year meetings were always about ritual and customs, but maybe again,  since the pandemic or even before, Japan society has been changing from a group society to more based on individual happiness and less about group happiness.

Of course Japan has a lot of required rituals, such as end of the year gift giving, the summer Obon, gift giving that might not change much, but the end of year parties and regular dinner meetings might be on the way out or will be less emphasized in the future.

Have a nice day and be safe!