They are demand for a record monthly pay increase of ¥12,000, or 4% of the base pay, for 2024. JAM chairman, Katahiro Yasukochi, spoke to reporters and said that “what is important is to realise wage growth that is faster than price hikes”. This is certainly what the BOJ and Tokyo wants to hear after having pressured firms to raise wages even more next year.
For some context, Japan’s largest trade union confederation had earlier demanded for a pay increase of 5% going into upcoming the spring wage negotiations in March.