Record Rise in Japan's Minimum Wage

Jul 25, 2024 | News On Japan

TOKYO - The national average minimum wage for this fiscal year has been set at 1,054 yen per hour, with the increase of 50 yen marking the largest ever.

The subcommittee of the Central Minimum Wage Council, comprising representatives from both labor and business sectors, has determined this year's minimum wage hike at a record 50 yen.

Currently, the national average minimum wage stands at 1,004 yen per hour. If all prefectures follow the guideline, it will rise to 1,054 yen.

This year's discussions focused on whether the increase would surpass last year's 43 yen hike, which brought the national average above 1,000 yen for the first time.

The final deliberations, which began at 2 p.m. on July 23, were temporarily suspended due to significant differences between labor and business representatives, and resumed at 10 a.m. on July 24.

The minimum wage, the lowest hourly rate companies are required to pay workers, varies by region, with Tokyo having the highest at 1,113 yen and Iwate the lowest at 893 yen, a gap of 220 yen.

The proposed guideline aims to reduce regional disparities by uniformly increasing the minimum wage by 50 yen across all prefectures.

Each prefecture will now refer to this guideline to decide their revised minimum wage, which is expected to take effect in October.

Previously: Japan's Minimum Wage Talks Delayed After Deadlock

Source: ANN

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