Inflation-hit voters in Japan hope for higher wages

Inflation-hit voters in Japan hope for higher wages

Sad headline and a pathetic testimony to late stage capitalism and neo liberalism.

Before the neolib consensus it was a given in Japan, the UK and US that rising productivity and profits would be followed by rising wages. In the last 40 years that relationship has been orthogonal.

Pure rentier kleptocracy.

Inflation-hit voters in Japan hope for higher wages

And yet, only two people grumble about inflation and one of those about wages. There seem to be no poll numbers or any evidence at all that Japanese are unhappy at all with losing out to inflation or are likely to give the LDP a bloody nose at the ballot box. In fact, it might be an absurd position to take but I don't think they will either. The LDP are part of the fabric of tradition and identity which always wins out against economic circumstances or mutterings about corruption.

"one of those about their own wages"

Hoping for higher wages?

Hoping but never getting!

No change but…

The Japanese continue to become poorer whilst taxes and living costs become higher.

For 18-year-old Miyamori, this will mark his first time to vote. "I will look at which party will benefit my economic circumstances

I’ll give you a tip. It definitely won’t be the LDP that benefits you.

"Ishiba has been saying that he will solve the political scandal issue, but it seems hard because of the power struggle in his party," 

it’s also hard, when the people that say they will “solve the problems” are the ones CAUSING the problems.

Politicians are fine for promises, urges and pronouncements but never explain the hows and the whens.

Yes, higher wages are maybe very nice, I really feel with everyone too, of course, but wait, they will of course increase and heat up inflation very much too. In addition, and that is the bigger problem, the whole sequence is of course wrong. First, more efforts in education, research and at work have to be done and all the nice products or professional services to be sold domestically and globally, only then comes the money in for wages and wage increases, not vice versa. There isn't so much place for wage increases in general and increases that even can outnumber inflation or other price hikes especially. That's nearly impossible in a population and competitiveness shrinking economy.

Japanese voters have been hoping for the same thing from more than a dozen PMs over the last thirty years and have received nothing except more inflation and an ever increasing cost of living. Keep hoping folks! Dreams are about the only thing in Japan that are free.

You voted LDP or didn’t vote and expect your wages to change after 4 decades of them not doing anything to sponsor growth. Something something the definition of insanity

Not one person in their group photo of the government will help anyone but themselves and will do nothing for this nation. I asked my friend if this was the best of Japan. All those old men who look like they partied their whole life and swindled as much as they could. Not one of them looked to be. Leader to motivated nation interaction. About the most boring people you could find. They all need to be booted. If you’re over 50 step aside.

Yoshiharu Fukushi, 69, who owns a translation business, said, "… Otherwise, it will just make inflation worse." Japan, instead, "should adopt expansionary fiscal policy, utilizing government bonds to overcome low wages," Fukushi said.

pwhat? Japan already has a quadrillion yen of outstanding public debt, worst in the world, and he wants “expansionary fiscal policy”.

Spending even more money will slam the yen, and thus make inflation worse.

Before the neolib consensus it was a given in Japan, the UK and US 

The ongoing cash handouts and subsidies should make it obvious that the neoliberal consensus never arrived in Japan…

I wonder if now that the wallet is tight people will start to take note of politics a bit more here and become more politically literate. Complaining alone will not help. What are the policies that got us here, what is in our control and what is out, and who has the best strategy and plan to make things better? It is a problem the whole world is tackling so comparing different countries approaches may also help.

With Japans dire unproductive work habits each needs to start looking at how they can do their own jobs better. This frog in a frypan method is not the way.

Although looking for some easy scapegoating is tempting , everyone can play a part to meet the challenges of the day. This however, is likely not the message people here will want to hear.

Individuals taking responsibility, thinking critically then speaking truth to the fat cat powers that have been asleep at the helm for thirty years. It’s that time.

Japanese corporations had continued wage-repression last decades to increase profit. And, LDP regime is always corporation's side.

At least, it needs changing Govt to increase income.

But, Japanese voters who hope to change regime to avoid poverty seem to be never majority.

Given the almost complete transparency in wages here in Japan, it still amazes me that people willingly sign up to work for companies, intending to stay for life, even despite knowing that their maximum possible wage is going to be paltry.

They use the word

HOPE

A story about inflation which has no reference to what the official inflation rate actually is?

Why don't you write in your article what Japan's inflation rate actually is?

I think inflation is more advanced around the world than in Japan, but are workers' wages keeping up with it?

To be honest, I have to say that Japan's labor productivity is far worse than other developed countries.

By the way, prices aren't rising as much as in Europe and the United States, so we can still get by without wage increases. Whether or not to raise wages is not something that politicians can decide, so it's up to the management of each company to decide.

I think what politicians can do is provide subsidies or grants, increase corporate taxes, or reduce income taxes.