Japan's real wages fall for record 25th straight month in April

Despite the positive wage negotiation outcome among major companies, which the Japan Business Federation said have agreed to an over 5 percent pay raise on average in monthly wages, hikes among small and medium-sized firms have fallen behind.

So real wages fell for a 25th consecutive month after all that talk last month about a reversal of this awful statistic.

Yes, the 16.5% of workers in Japan who belong to unions received moderate wage increases, but the remaining 83.5% were unfortunately left behind.

Now what?

Well done JGovt! With weak yen, imported food and raw food it will increase more. Even for simple noodle Japan need to import wheat from abroad.

https://theconversation.com/food-prices-will-climb-everywhere-as-temperatures-rise-due-to-climate-change-new-research-226345

The effects of 'shunto' wage negotiations were reflected, to some extent, but it's not clear if we'll keep seeing good figures," said an official of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

Decades of voodoo economic excuses offered by the ministries for 5he failure of LDP trickle down policies.

The reality is many Japanese companies have experienced gains and hoarded cash while shrinking the share going to labor.

These are the LDP cronies so they will only get urges to do something.

https://www.epi.org/productivity-pay-gap/

And JGov wants more Japanese to marry and have kids?! Is JGov crazy or just ignorant?

Of course we're seeing a net loss! Food easily costs 30% more than it did three years ago! 99% of the population hasn't seen a 30% income increase during that time.

Gee that's a surprise...not! When I started as an ELT about 25 years ago the starting salary was 250k yen ...which is the same starting salary offered today!

Fair enough when living costs weren't rising so fast but now..... disgraceful

When I started as an ELT about 25 years ago the starting salary was 250k yen ...which is the same starting salary offered today!

Unfortunately, I don't think the ELT job was ever meant to be a career path, it was supposed to be a way for some young people who didn't have financial commitments to come and enjoy Japan for a few years. It's just that some people really like it and never wanted to go back. And with the law of supply and demand, where there will always be people willing to come and work at that salary, there is pressing requirement for the industry to raise salaries.

Teaching got me into Japan, but once I learned enough Japanese, I got out of it ASAP because I could see it didn't pay enough. I enjoyed doing it, it was fun talking with all sorts of different Japanese people. But I was in eikaiwa, and not owning the school, it wasn't enough for me to feel comfortable starting a family.

@Strangerland

ALT job back then was enough to pay back university loans,enjoy plentiful travel,and with heavily subsided accommodation and utilities,enough to save money.

26 years ago.

Inflation-adjusted, probably more than three times the income than now.

ALT job back then was enough to pay back university loans,enjoy plentiful travel,and with heavily subsided accommodation and utilities,enough to save money.

Not with a family.

-Well done JGovt!

-Is JGov crazy or just ignorant?

Why blame the govt? Its the private sector employers who are to blame, refusing to give decent raises anywhere near in line with their record-high earnings growth. The last couple of PMs have exhorted them repeatedly to pay more, but they refuse. Blame them.

The last couple of PMs have exhorted them repeatedly to pay more, but they refuse. Blame them.

You answered the quandary yourself. Exhort. Urge

That is not how a government acts when it wants things to get done.

The LDP controls the purse strings to the lavish corporate welfare and subsidies and tax breaks they give to Japan Inc.

Make them contingent on a greater share of profits going to labor.

That is if the government is sincere in its push for higher wages, which I am not sure about.

This is why Japanese are not marrying and the low birth rate!

*Japan's real wages in April fell 0.7 percent from a year earlier for the 25th straight month of decline, the longest since comparable data became available in 1991, as wage growth failed to keep pace with inflation, government data showed Wednesday.*

*"It's uncertain when real wages will turn positive when taking into account a balance" between wages and price increases, the official added.*

*Despite the positive wage negotiation outcome among major companies, which the Japan Business Federation said have agreed to an over 5 percent pay raise on average in monthly wages, *hikes among small and medium-sized firms have fallen behind.

Crying from a quite high level, as they have real wages. What about all the many people who don't have any and are dependent on that every day a few crumbs fall under the banquet table? So shrinking wages are bad, yes, but still very much better than none!