Japan Labor Union and Wage Expectations. Updated Oct. 26, 2025.

Japan's largest labor union to seek 5% or higher pay hike next spring

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20251024/p2g/00m/0bu/014000c

Ideas

Japanese labor unions and Japanese companies have a more cooperative relationship than the typical adversarial style of maybe South Korea or the US.

As a result Japanese unions can usually bargain in good faith without having to result in strikes with of course is very common in the US.

That doesn't mean Japanese labor unions get everything they want, which they don't, but it's a more cooperative atmosphere when negotiating.

Many times, labor unions always ask for more at the beginning of negotiations with the full knowledge they might not get it but then begin to negotiate in a more realistic tone. 

Real wages in Japan have fallen behind inflation which means consumer purchasing power of Japanese workers have been decreasing mostly since the pandemic when inflation became more significant.

As a result of less purchasing power of most Japanese workers they have less to spend in the Japanese economy and most likely of course have less disposable income to use on whatever they want.

A 5 percent increase or higher in wages, for large companies might be achievable but a increase of 6 percent for small and mid-size companies might not be realistic and most small and mid-size companies just don't have the resources needed to pay that much in wage increases.

Many if not all small and mid-size companies have very thin profits margins and they have very little room in even getting a small wage increase much less a 6+ percent wage increase.

Japanese companies, large, medium, and small are not very equal compared to Germany where the companies of all sizes are relatively equal.

In most cases or many cases in Japan the small and mid-size companies are suppliers to the large companies, which means the large companies dictate the price of supplies coming from the smaller companies, which means they usually don't get the price they want or need, which makes their profits margins very thin.

A hour wage increase of 1,300 might sound good or better than nothing, which it is, but tell that to a minimum wage worker who has to support a family or a single mother who has to support her child on just minimum wage.

But again, if there are small Japanese companies that rely on minimum wage labor, they might have no choice as they most likely can't afford to hire regular hourly wage workers for their companies.

The 5.25 percent increase in April of 2025 was good but most likely, again, that was mostly for large company workers as small and mid-size company workers might have received much less.

Finally there is a huge divide between what the name-brand large company workers get and what the small and mid-size workers get, which make up almost 70 percent of the Japanese work force. So because of the large different between the two groups, most likely consumer spending in the Japanese economy is not going to improve until the difference between the two groups is reduced significantly.

Have a nice day!

Japan Core Consumer Prices: Updated Oct. 25,, 2025.

Japan's core consumer prices in September rise 2.9% on energy, food costs

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20251024/p2g/00m/0bu/030000c

Ideas

Inflation in Japan has been a major challenge for most consumers in Japan since the pandemic as it really hasn't gone down much at all.

Yet, not to criticize, the Japanese government while attempting to lower inflation has not been able to reduce it much if any at all.

It's quite possible, that the powers to be in Japan have taken the approach that says just let the market be as it is and inflation will eventually begin to subside over time.

Most central banks would prefer to have inflation at or around 2 percent as they feel its a manageable number and it shows an economy is running smoothly, not too fast and not too slow.

Unfortunately, most in Japan might be feeling the effects of inflation as maybe their disposable income gets less and less each month as inflation continues to increase.

Of course the most vulnerable in Japan might be feeling the effects of the increase in inflation the most as they have to spend more of their income on food than other income groups.

Unfortunately, Japan is resource poor country which means it has to import much of what it needs and maybe including much of the food it needs.

At the same time, raw material prices keep going up and energy prices continue to climb and then most likely many producers and importers have to pass-on their increased costs to the next in the supply chain which of course means the final retail customers too.

Rice prices, since the summer of 2024, seemed to be out of control, as there was a supposed shortage of rice which meant or seemed to be everyone including producers and supermarkets horded rice supplies and most families and consumers had to suffer through it, and might still be a major challenge in Japan.

Yes, its not sure, by anyone's guess, that prices are decelerating as prices appear to continue to be high and at the level that is very uncomfortable for most in Japan except for maybe the upper middle class or the higher income groups.

Consumer spending Japan has never been at a level that it helps the economy grow as most Japanese are not big spenders like those in the US used to be, as now even US consumers seem to be spending less as inflation continues somewhat there.

Any little bit helps as maybe the subsidies last year helped Japanese families as even a small decrease in electricity subsidies can have a huge effect on some families's disposable income.

Most durable goods are probably not a daily purchase or even a monthly purchase and most likely are yearly purchases such as a TV, air conditioner or even a washer, or dryer.

As the summer moved slightly toward fall or autumn, the price of air conditioners might have decreased as many places such as Yodobashi Camera, a major appliance store in Japan, lowered their prices to get rid of the old stock to bring the new stock related to AC's that were more inline with providing heat increased cooler temperatures for the summer months

The BOJ, as usual, will look at everything but mostly now will focus on how the US tariff situation is going to effect the Japanese economy in the future and will have to make a decision whether which is more important either inflation or the US tariff situation and the Japanese economy.

Its not going to be an easy decision as choosing one of the other could potentially have an effect on the economy as the BOJ has to decide which is the most important, at the moment, to help the economy.

Have a nice day!

Japan Exports: Updated Oct. 25, 2025.

Japan exports to US down 10.2% in April-September amid higher tariffs

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20251022/p2g/00m/0bu/015000c

Ideas

Its possible the US tariff situation might have finally began to effect Japan's exports to the US, but a decrease of 10 percent may or may not be as bad as what was expected, but again maybe for some Japanese exporters it might be a more a major problem.

The US, for the most part, has usually been if not the largest but at least the second largest country Japan exports next to China, which recently has been a little down related to exports.

Japanese car exporters to the US might have shifted their strategies some from luxury type cars, which of course are more expensive, to lower-priced cars to try and offset the US tariff situation and also to appeal more to US consumers who might be feeling the effects of the tariff situation too.

Who knows exactly why imports might have declined as maybe a change in the Japanese yen might have made imports less expensive which might have been a reason for the decrease to 6.93 trillion yen.f

Japan is a resource-poor country which means it has to import much of what it needs and as a result the Japanese yen, being weak recently, has increase the value of imports into Japan, which causes importers to pass-on their costs to the next in the supply chain including the final retail customer in Japan.

Yes, the price increases by Japanese automakers might have had an effect on US consumers as they might still be feeling the effects of past inflation and maybe their disposable income is not where it should be and as the price of Japanese cars might be going up they are thinking twice about buying a new Japanese car at this time.

The challenge in Japan is how will the shareholders of Japanese automakers react to less profits and earnings due to the decrease in sales in the US. Are they going to understand the overall situation or are they just going to be like most shareholders today and demand the same or even more profits from the Japanese automakers.

While it normal or natural for Japanese automakers to use a lot its resources in making cars for the US market as it is or was one of japan's largest export market.

It would be wise, which is common knowledge, Japan automakers need to re-invest in not only China but also the EU to try and regain market share that Japan might have lost since the pandemic.

And then there is the rest of South East Asia, which continues to have a growing middle class which might be interested or looking for new Japanese car to purchase.

And then there is the growing middle class in Central and South America too where they might be looking for a new Japanese car.

So the point is there are many other markets, globally, besides the US that Japanese automakers need to continue to export to and continue to gain more market share in those other regions besides the US.

China might be going through some kind of shift in its economy as maybe its beginning to transition from a developing economy to more of an advanced economy or a quasi-advanced economy.

The problem with China, despite it relative wealth in the eastern part of China and the southern part of China, the rest of China might be considered as being left behind which might be effecting the whole of China.

And then there is also the possibility of Japanese automakers losing market share to Chinese automakers with their emphasis these days on electric cars which Japanese automakers are slow to adapt to recently.

Yes, despite the challenges in China, the rest of Asia seems to be much better for Japanese automakers as again the growing middle class in the Asia seems to be willing to buy Japanese cars more and more.

Unfortunately, the EU economy seems to be stuck or stagnant and just doesn't seem to be doing much of anything recently. Blame it on the Ukraine war situation or blame it on the EU not being able or willing to innovate to help its economy grow and or as there are 27 countries in the EU and some of them might be dragging down the entire EU economy.

The Japanese economy is a very staple economy, but recently, the past 20 years or so or maybe even 30 years, as been stuck in a stagnant phase and hasn't been able to really get any kind of momentum going as it has it periods of starts and stops and just can't seem to get it going like it did in the 80's when it was the envy of the world.

The only real positive for the Japanese economy, as of late has been the surge in foreign visitors to Japan, and with the weak Japanese yen, foreign visitors to Japan have more purchasing power which means they are able more, which is helping the Japanese economy some.

The real challenge for the Japanese economy is to get the domestic economy moving which means more spending by Japanese consumers, which at this time, due on the continued increase in inflation are reluctant to spend much.

Have a nice day!

BOJ Ideas: Updated Oct. 22, 2025.

Hawkish BOJ board member reiterates readiness for rate hikes

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20251016/p2g/00m/0bu/038000c

Ideas

Many central banks, globally, have increased or decreased the key rate as a way to prevent or avoid market shocks when it's needed to increase or decrease the rate in times of need.

What is not needed is increasing or decreasing the rate just to do it when an economy might suffer when there is no need to adjust the rate, as its better to let an economy adjust itself overtime, with any intervention from the central bank.

Market adjustments such as in a business cycle, most of the time, with take care of themselves over time and really don't need any central banks adjustments, as what the central bank might do can actually create more harm than good instead of just letting a market or economy adjust itself.

Yes, its good that the Bank of Japan is concerned about the increase in prices and its a known fact that many ff not all central banks, globally, have used increased rates as way to try and reduce in inflation in an economy.

The only exception, for a very long time, maybe ten years or so, has been the Bank of Japan, which kept its key rate as sub-zero due the fact they felt the Japanese economy was just too weak and any increase in the key rate would cause too many side-effects and do harm than good.

But that was then and now it a different era for the Bank of Japan, as the BOJ has actually increased the a few times the last couple of years to come more line with what other central banks, globally, have been doing.

It's good that the benchmark rate should be set closer to the neutral rate as that will bring markets into a position of not over-reacting to any real changes the BOJ might do in the future.

As to what the new Prime Minister is going to do in the future is still up in the air, as when any politician, globally, they say one thing when trying to get elected but another thing after they are elected.

Being a fiscal dove might be good for the Japanese economy and Japanese businesses, but again, when reality sets in and different groups want different things for the economy, politicians sometimes can do things completely different that what others think they might do.

Unfortunately, the BOJ repeatedly might have already acted too late as they really haven't done much since the pandemic while prices have continued to remain high for a very long time.

But BOJ, for its part, has been very cautious about increasing or decreasing the rate too much as it doesn't want to inflict significant damage on the economy.

Whether good or bad, any move that the BOJ is going to  do will have some side affects as every central bank knows whatever it does is going to affect some in the economy negatively but hopefully it will affect an economy in a positive way more.

Most central banks want inflation or consumer prices to be at or around 2 percent as they feeits a manageable level for the economy and at 2 percent not too many people are going to suffer from it.

But at 3 percent or higher, there is the increased chance that more and more people in an economy are going to suffer from increased prices and their disposable income is going to be decreased to the point that they have nothing left to spend in an economy.

The BOJ is a very conservative central bank, like most central banks, and any extra economic activity such as the increase in tariffs might have a significant effect on the economy, and of course in this case the Japanese economy so the BOJ is going to watch it very carefully before it makes any move to as to whether it should or shouldn't related to the tariff situation.

In this case, if the tariff situation does have a significant effect on the Japanese economy the most likely move probably will be to reduce the key rate as as way to help stimulate the Japanese economy as the economy, again has probably turned stagnant.

As far as inflation is concerned an increase of the key rate to 0.75 might be the correct move, but unfortunately if the Japanese economy starts to decrease significantly due to the US tariff situation that might cause the BOJ to ignore the inflation situation and actually might consider decreasing the key rate as a way to try and help stimulate the economy.

But the BOJ will have to decide which economic action, inflation or the tariff situation, is the most important economic action that will affect the Japanese economy the most and then of course will then make the best move possible to help the economy.

Have a nice day!

Japan and Record Visitors: Updated Oct. 22, 2025.

Japan tops 31 mil. visitors in Jan.-Sept., surpasses 30 mil. at record pace

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20251016/p2g/00m/0et/008000c

Ideas

As China is close to Japan, it's natural that the middle class in China would want to travel to Japan due to Japan's weak currency which makes spending money in Japan much easier.

Of course China, being one of the largest populations in the world has a huge middle class that want to travel and spend money these days.

When people travel,  most of the time, they don't think about politics or ideology they just want to travel and experience other countries.

Foreign tourism in Japan is almost becoming an economic driver, meaning it has a significant effect on the Japanese economy and can improve the economy.

But even at 36.87 million tourists it still has a long way to go to match both France and Spain in tourist numbers.

About ten years ago, for something like that, the Japanese government decided to open up the tourism market and grant more short-term visas to many counties and ever since then the flood gates have opened and now each year Japan is setting records for the number of foreign tourists who enter Japan.

The Japanese domestic economy, in itself, these days, is close to being stagnant, meaning there is not much consumer spending in the economy and Japan is relying more and more on foreign tourism as a economic driver to get the economy moving again.

The challenge is of course is that the Japanese population is around 125 million people while foreign tourists might reach around 39 million in 2025, which means there is a significant difference in the spending of foreign tourists versus Japanese domestic consumers.

And then there is the challenge of over-tourism as some places such as Kyoto in the Osaka area of Japan might actually be experiencing too many tourists for the size of the area.

And like any place, globally, there are going to be some who don't want tourists in their area, and its common that maybe ten percent or less of the tourists that enter Japan are not polite and might cause some problems for the local population.

It's not going to be easy to disperse foreign travelers to regional areas as most foreign tourists want to go to the most popular places in Japan and not some out of the way area that might take time to get there and or have spend more money to get there.

Yes, it's a good idea to promote out of the way regional areas but again how do you get enough foreign travelers to go to the regional areas to improve the economies of the regional areas.

Again its only natural that China, South Korea, and Taiwan make up the most foreign tourists going to Japan as other places or countries might be too far for a significant number of tourists to go as Europe and the US are just a little too far.

But that doesn't mean, with travel today being significantly improved, that someone from Europe or the US or Canada or even South America might want to visit Japan, but again there might not be a significant number of tourists compared to the three regions listed above.

The middle class, which in most countries now want to travel and experience other places has exploded in East Asian countries not to mention the Southeast Asian areas too with an explosion of the middle class in India, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, and even the Philippines seeing a significant increase in the middle class that want to travel with Japan, being in close proximity want to travel there too.

Japan, unfortunately, is prone to many natural disasters such as typhoons, earthquakes, and tsunamis. And the news can spread fast globally, and especially in the Asia-Pacific region which can affect the numbers of tourists wanting to travel to Japan.

But despite the potential for negative news foreign tourists seem willing and able to travel to Japan to experience Japan and Japanese culture and food.

Spending related in Japan related to German visitors, British visitors, and Spanish tourists might be attributed to the fact that they have might have higher incomes compared to the East Asian countries of China, South Korea, and Taiwan.

But then again the incomes of the middle class in the three East Asian countries have been increasing each year and might be close to the countries mentioned and or even passing them soon if not already.

Its going to take a significant effort to get to 60 million foreign visitors by 2030 and without significant challenges such as crowding, litter and noise problems.

And then, as with any country, there are going to be some who don't want foreign visitors and there seems to be a small but growing number or some in Japan who don't want any tourists at all.

Unfortunately, and it might be a very small number of visitors, who cause all of the problems that make all foreign visitors look bad, which means because of the few who do make problems the Japanese government might impose some restrictions on all foreign visitors.

Many years ago, or maybe not that long ago, there was the phrase "ugly American," which indicated some Americans didn't have good manners and or didn't follow the local customs needed to be polite in a country.

Unfortunately, that is what is happening in Japan now with foreign visitors who don't want to be polite or have good manners when visiting Japan, which again, makes all foreign visitors in Japan look bad.

All the things the local governments are trying to do to get foreign visitors to be more polite and follow local customs is good, but unfortunately, there are still going go to be some who don't follow the rules, but that is in every county too such as in France, Spain, South Korea too.

Governments can only do so much as it seems tourists, when they travel or go on vacation, they forget their manners as they think they don't have to follow any rules and or be polite compared to when they are in their own country.

Japanese culture is not the same as in other countries but good manners are and it's important for all, especially when traveling to a foreign country to have good manners as a foreign visitor to a foreign country a person is  representing their  country and when they display behavior that is not polite or not good manners it reflects on what the domestic population thinks about that country and the people in that country.

Before traveling to Japan it would be good for foreign visitors to learn something about the country and its culture and especially what might considered good manners and what might be considered not good manners. 

While some foreign visitors might actually try to look for some information about the country they are going to travel to, there are going to be some who going to do what they want without any regard for the culture of a country, the manners of a country, and some might even forget about being polite in the foreign country they are  in.

Have a nice day!

Japan Expat Workers: Updated Oct. 20, 2025.

'Mismatch' between training, needs may be behind Japan expat workers returning early: survey

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20251014/p2a/00m/0bu/009000c

 Ideas

It's been suggested that more and more Japanese workers are declining assignments overseas and it's even a trend among Japanese students not wanting to study in foreign countries.

Some even suggest that many young Japanese don't want to travel to foreign countries as they just want to stay in Japan. It might be that some or many young Japanese have given up on life as they don't even like their jobs or their place in life.

While you see and hear about young people in other countries wanting to experience working in a foreign culture the opposite is true for the Japanese as they have become very insular and don't want to experience the outside world.

There has got to be a balance between company responsibility in helping young workers prepare for overseas assignments and young workers taking the initiative to get themselves ready for an overseas assignment. In many cases the companies might be doing their part, but in some cases no matter what the companies does to prepare a worker to go overseas, if the worker doesn't want to go there nothing will help in them adapting to the local culture or improving in the new foreign language.

Lack of language skills ranks 6th place

Language skills are usually never the main reason for young workers not adapting to overseas assignments as its usually a combination of being unable to adapt to the local culture and not being able to communicate effectively with local staff.

The same might said for some who go to Japan and are unable to adapt to Japanese culture and not able to effectively communicate with local Japanese workers.

Its not easy to fit into a supposed rigid work culture that some Japanese companies might have and or some subsidiaries of foreign companies in Japan as an expat from other countries aren't able to fit in due a number of reasons.

Pre-assignment training mandatory at below 30% of firms

Regardless of the training provided or not provided it's still important for the worker that is going to be posed overseas to take the initiative to find out as much as he/she can about that country. The internet has a lot of examples of how to adapt to another country along with what to do and what not to do in a country.

But at the same time, if a Japanese company is going to send an employee overseas to a foreign country, they should at least provide some training or information on the foreign country, its culture, what are the expected norms in that country and how to communicate effectively with the staff a person is going to be working with.

When Japanese employees return from their overseas assignments, companies should interview about the positives and negatives of their overseas experience. But the problem is, many of the workers might not be willing to say anything negative as they feel it might reflect on them in a negative way for future promotions so they never actually say about their overseas experience which companies never get the real story from the overseas worker.

Unfortunately many Japanese workers are reluctant to express their opinions as they feel it might hurt their chances for advancement in the company so they keep silent or just follow the normal mandate of not talking much at all.

Overseas assignments actually unpopular?

Again, as has been noted in other articles the trend of young workers wanting to work overseas has been less and less each decade as young workers just don't want to leave Japan. 

And again, Japanese young workers are becoming more insular each year as they just don't even want to travel overseas to experience foreign cultures, while workers in other countries usually are very eager to work overseas and have the chance to see, explore, and experience other countries.

Japan has a global talent problem on two fronts. On one front many young Japanese don't want to travel and work in foreign countries, which limits Japan from really growing home-grown global talent and on the second front, Japan has a significant immigration problem in that many young workers in other countries, who might be very qualified, with good Japanese language skills, but are not able to work in Japan due to the high immigration hurtles which seems to limit Japan getting enough global foreign talent into Japan.

At the present time, in Japan, there is a supposed labor shortage but there are many qualified foreign workers who might be able to help Japan with its labor shortage but the immigration situation in Japan just doesn't allow them to live and work in Japan as it would go a long way to decreasing the labor shortage in Japan.

Have a nice day!

Japanese Company Strategies and New Hires. Updated Oct. 18, 2025.

Japanese companies employing various strategies to retain college hires

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20251013/p2g/00m/0bu/026000c

Ideas

New workers today are not the same as workers 5 years, or 10 years ago, even 20 years ago. They have different priorities and ideas about work and companies, globally, need to understand what young graduates today want to and need from a company.

That doesn't mean companies can or should do everything that new graduates want or need to but they should try to find a balance between company needs and the need of today's young workers.

Apps are good and maybe needed but they don't replace the need for companies to understand what today's young workers are like and why they are the way they are.

The traditional Japanese company with it right hierarchy doesn't fit well with workers today as young workers might feel stifled and feel they are never seen or heard and basically are just told to do what is given to them.

What worked in a Japanese company 10 or 20 years ago or even five years ago is not going to work today. With the Japanese economy experiencing a labor shortage now that means workers can easily change jobs if they don't like the working condition of a company that just hired them.

Young workers today, globally, for the most part are looking for better work/life experiences and are not looking for a company that is going to make them work long hours or even weekends.

Of course that might not apply to the high-tek sector with its long hours of sometimes 9 to 6 and 6 days a week but for most companies they use a more normal work schedule.

Some might even be looking for a more remote style of work or a hybrid style of work, with working some days in the office and some days at home or in a coffee shop.

Poor relationships with bosses is always a common complaint among workers but in the past most workers just endured it as they needed the money or the job was OK, but bad enough to quit.

But today young workers might not have the patience or endurance to just keep working in a company where they don't get along with the boss.

And then there is the idea of company culture, which can mean many different things to different workers and again, today, if a young worker doesn't feel comfortable in that company they most likely are going to look for another job, while it the past workers tended to just endure the situation.

It would be interesting, with Japan's labor shortage today, what is the number or workers at different age groups who are leaving and changing jobs as it appears workers in Japan today can more easily find a new job if they don't like their present job.

Of course the 18 to 25 age group might be the most susceptible to change jobs as they have very different job perceptions compared to the 30+ age group or even the 40+ age group.

Knowing and understanding what the well-being of young workers with an app is good and needed but it doesn't take the place of human interaction as again, companies need to know and understand the human interaction side of the equation, which many companies, globally, have failed at doing.

Many companies, not all companies, treat their workers as commodities and or as they can be easily replaced, so they don't take the time to know or learn about their workers as today they are there but tomorrow they might need to get rid of them.

As far as the numbers deteriorating that doesn't mean a new worker is going to give any information that might help a company find out why some workers are unhappy with their jobs as young workers might be too scared to give a company any information.

But at the same time, an app being new and modern, might appeal to some or many young workers and they might feel it can help them communicate with the management of a company about their feelings about the job.

Young workers today, globally, need and want to be heard and they don't want to just be put on a team or given a desk and then forgotten about. Thy want to be seen and heard and they want to feel their actions in the company are treated fairly and given credit for their work.

It's  good and important, as much as possible, that new workers have a choice in where they want to work in a company, and not just put into a department that they have no desire to work at. Of course that might not be possible for all workers to get a job in the department of their choice but it would be good if most new young workers can have a choice, as they feel they have ownership of where they want to work.

There was a recent article that suggested that today many workers in Japan don't want to work overseas as they just want to work in Japan only.

The article went on to suggest that many companies don't provide enough training or education to help them in overseas assignments, leaving the learning to the worker only.

If Japanese companies need or want young workers to take overseas assignments they need to provide the education and training to help them have a positive work experience in their overseas assignments.

Have a nice day!