Japan Panel Proposes 6% Minimum Wage Hike

A Japanese Labour Ministry panel recommended on Monday a hike of 63 yen, or 6.0%, in the average minimum hourly wage for this fiscal year.

The increase is up from the previous year's proposed 50-yen hike and marks the largest rise since at least 2002, as the government scrambles to sustain wage-driven economic growth.

The proposed increase would raise the average minimum wage to 1,118 yen ($7.57) per hour, a Labour Ministry official said, surpassing last year's 5% increase and marking the biggest rise since the current system was introduced 23 years ago.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba pledged last year to make "untiring efforts" to raise the average minimum wage by 42% to 1,500 yen per hour by the end of the decade — a goal that was brought forward from the original mid-2030s target set by the previous administration.