Only a few companies that earn sizable profits, such as automobile-related firms, can respond to the demand for pay-scale increases.

If Abenomics requires wage increases to succeed then simply legislating higher pay for haken workers is the way to go. Enact regulation requiring that all haken agencies pay-out as haken wages a significantly larger percentage of what they collect from their corporate clients.

Of course the agencies (predominately privately held non-public companies) won't like it - and will cry foul after years of funneling campaign contributions into the political system to ring fence their profits from any legal limitations. (This goes back to the Recruit scandal). Their corporate clients ("haken employers") won't like it either since they'll be forced to pay more to prevent take-home pay for their haken workers from falling - which would consequently shrink the pie for priviledged middle management seishain. However the millions of consumers who rely entirely on haken jobs to make ends meet will certainly be better off - and much more likely to spend once the new sales tax adds another 3% to the price of groceries come April.

You won't see any economic reports from Daiwa Soken (DIR) or other major think-tanks suggesting these kinds of revisions to haken laws in favor of workers. These organizations are almost entirely dependent on grants from industry and government - and won't bite the hands that feed them.

The ONLY demand for pay raises that companies will respond to is when workers LEAVE because of another company is paying more money.

Until that happens, all this is political nonsense.

The nation's carmakers announced earlier this week a projected drop in domestic sales of 5 million units (or a little under 10% of 2013-14 numbers) for the year starting April 1, 2014, when the consumption tax rises to 8%. Even these companies now appear unlikely to offer anything in the way of a significant pay-raise.

Because, Abenomics only favors those companies that are export related. Cars, and some electronics. This is not the 1970's anymore where Japan mass produced for the world and shipped it everywhere. Thus Abenomics will not help the average citizen, All we have seen is an increase in the price of everything, from raw materials, to energy, to the imminent consumption tax increase. Thanks Mr. Abe. Time for another bathroom visit, and stay there!