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Abe asks business leaders to raise wages before sales tax hike

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And yearly taxes on property ownership,double taxation on waste disposal, local government tax etc- income tax is just one of many taxes in Japan!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Why no talk on raising the minimum wage ? According to OECD statistics, Japan had the second to lowest minimum wage for developed countries.

Someone claimed that women rated highly in the work force- yeah, all working on part time contracts with no benefits on very low minimum wage and with many working two jobs at a time . Let's see how it works on a basic wage of around 120,000 yen per month.

Rent--- power---gas---telephone--transport to and from work--- health insurance-- income tax---the pension tax---food. Just do the math.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Request a wage hike, how desperate! 75% of the economy is small to medium sized businesses. There will no zero wage increase for them.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Asking businesses to increase wages for their workers is like asking taxpayers to pay more taxes.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Expect a sales tax blunder to stop purchases and have same effect on markets as IMF rate hike had on USA, This is not the time to temp fate in troubles economic waters.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Pretty please with cool whip on top

0 ( +0 / -0 )

One flip flop after another is the strategic confusing gymnastics of Abe govt.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

The joke govt made another request ? How about just tax them directly, rather than indirectly through sales tax ?

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Good Lord, are we still "asking, or urging" businesses to do the right thing? How about putting these basic labor related issues like salaries and working hours into law? You know, like enforce labor laws by penalizing companies to comply? Abe is such a useless leader.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Ask? Okay, lets play. How about Abe ask the citizens to (voluntarily) pay the sales tax? Lets see how many do...might be more than businesses asked to raise wages.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Double checked, Japan has the lowest group of nations lowest wage, raked at 141 for women participating in the work force. Yes health care is good, but not great, it takes 10 years for new medicine to be approved. Thailand is more progressive. But at the end of the day. As most people do who are aware best to go overseas.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Raised wages = Higher Salary Packet taxation and on top of this 10% tax across whatever you purchase day to day, from Water to Houses.

And you think, some of the many smaller companies are going to say, alright we're struggling to survive but will pay our employees more ? No way, it'll be sorry we had to cut your job, so we could pay everyone else a few yen more..

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

asks?

How about making it mandatory? no full time job should pay less than 300000 a month for a starter.....

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

The wage raise is cancelled by the inflation. The very essence of ''abonomics'' is monetary inflation. Artifical inflation. They increase the money supply in the economy, which devalues the currency. So any wage raise is merely leveling up the value of the previous wage, but it diminishes all savings, so people are worse off.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Abe in power to 2021

Support his message and hard work, has done a great job in a country with limited options, pressure by outside forces to undermine Japan's economy since 1985.

-5 ( +1 / -6 )

Err don't think so using bold letters does not make an argument. Have another check. Lowest minimum wage. Women in the work force ? Could go on but your bold type face obviously makes anything I say moot.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

That is the CEO of MHI seated between them, where pay "raises" have been less than 1% for years and falling bonuses actually means there is a pay cut. 3%, let alone 5% is a pipe dream. Every year Abe bleats the same fake request with the same result...

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Bwahahaha! I seem to recall the same ‘urge’ five years ago.

However, the reality is, companies are going to feel the pinch of the sales tax rise just as much as everybody else, which will only result in a refusal to raise salaries. Raising salaries is not the answer anyway. This old goat should be reducing taxes, not increasing them, to spur public spending. Japan does not have an export based economy anymore. Japan only has a domestic economy, which is being killed by these old fools that still think it is the 1980’s.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Where is the money going to come from to pay for the salary increases?

Hello, Japan Inc. is raking in the highest profits IN ITS HISTORY. While doing this, they also got a nice corporate tax cut, much of which is facilitating their share buybacks and higher dividends for shareholders. Naturally, consumers will have to pay more in sales taxes to shoulder the elite's latest windfall.

If you actually believe corporations now can't "afford" decent raises for their workers, then you're drinking the neo-lib flavoured Koolaid...and that's a potent, fantastical elixir indeed.

Abe, through his "reforms," encouraged the corporations to jump on the free-market, neo-liberal, globalization bandwagon, so his calls about wages have been undermined -- by his own actions. You couldn't make it up.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Japan is the lowest of all G7 G20 nations for a plethora of things, wages, workers rights, women in the work force, child care, Basic wages, highest taxes, lowest health care.

lol.. Let's factcheck this fake news just for fun.

Lowest Wages: Japan has the 7th highest wages of all G20 countries according to the OECD.

Lowest Workers rights: According to the International Trade Union Confederation, Japan ranks more favourable in terms of workers rights than G20 members Australia, UK, Spain, America, Korea, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, India and Indonesia. Only Germany and Italy rank more highly.

Lowest Woman in the workforce: Japan has a female labourforce participation rate of 68.3% according to the UN. This is higher than G20 members Italy, Argentina, Mexico, Turkey, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.

Lowest Child Care: Japan spends more per child on Childcare according the OECD than G20 members America, Canada, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, and Italy just to name a few.

Highest Taxes: The average Japanese earner paid 22.3% of their gross salary in taxes including social security contributions according to 2018 OECD data. This is lower than the US, UK, Germany, France, Australia, Italy, just to name a few.

Lowest Healthcare: The WHO has previously ranked Japan as the 4th most efficient healthcare system if you look only at G20 countries.

1 ( +8 / -7 )

There is nothing Abe can do about wages. It's up to each company. The boss at the company where I work has already told us that if we meet our sales target at the end of the fiscal year (next March 31), then everyone will receive a small pay increase. But if not, wages will stay the same. That has put our sales team under tremendous pressure because they feel all of us are depending on them. They have said it will be tough to meet the targets. So I guess no pay hike for us.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Japan is the lowest of all G7 G20 nations for a plethora of things, wages, workers rights, women in the work force, child care, Basic wages, highest taxes, lowest health care. The Shinz knows this, he pleads his family friends to do more and the result is shogani. Great job. At least he got a vetenary college for his friend.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

We've been hearing this nonsense since 2012. Sadder yet, we'll probably continue hearing it well into the 2020s. Extremely wealthy politicians raising regressive taxes on people already hurting--brilliant idea! Meanwhile, wait, there's more. Said wealthy pols will politely whisper to their richer patrons that perhaps, umm, could you, keigo blah blah blah, consider paying your wageslaves a bit more so they'll buy shiny widgets and boost inflation and oh, I dunno, manage to feed their families. Purty please. I ask you like a slavering dog b/c a) your very kind and continuing campaign contributions, b) it looks good in the media and c) I wouldn't want anyone to know that the state could actually compel far more of you 1% swine.

8 ( +8 / -0 )

Request.............in other words, sweet FA will happen.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Where is the money going to come from to pay for the salary increases?

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Here we go again... demand the people do one thing, and ask politely that businesses do something AFTER saying it'll be one of the things that will compensate the demands. Abe THIRD arrow failed YEARS ago, now he has to ask again. Businesses will just shrug and say "Kangaemasu".

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Abe clearly should've won this years M-1 comedian grandprix contest. What a jester.

8 ( +8 / -0 )

Hahahaha.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

He can quickly increase the amount of legally unpaid overtime but can't increase wages? What a leader, now his request? In what world does he live in?

6 ( +7 / -1 )

Shinzo made a "Request" ! What a bold, unprecedented move !

Don't hold your breath.

7 ( +8 / -1 )

"I would like to request a wage hike that will further cement the upward momentum of the economy," Abe told business leaders at a meeting of the Japan Business Federation

Haha, like to request? Upward economy? You're such a comedian aren't you, little shinzo?

8 ( +10 / -2 )

Request? Is that the same as an urge, pledge, promise. Business leaders have continued to ignore The Shinz why would they suddenly change? The man has no leadership no respect no umph. The Titanic was better captioned.

9 ( +11 / -2 )

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