Akihiko Matsuura, president of UA Zensen, center, raises his fist with members of the union during a rally for the annual wage negotiations in Tokyo, Japan, on Thursday, March 7, 2024.
But will the "shunto" hikes really work for its legions of salarymen?
However, headline inflation, which has been above the Bank of Japan's 2% target since April 2022, hits the entire population.
This means that the generous pay raise negotiated by the unions leave out almost 84% of Japan's workforce.
The recent wage negotiations are also likely to benefit mostly workers in large Japanese companies, while employees at small and medium enterprises might have to face rising prices without a commensurate hike to their salaries.
Persons:
Akihiko Matsuura, Richard Kaye, Comgest, Japan
Organizations:
UA, Japanese Trade Union Confederation, Japan International Labour Foundation, Bank of Japan's, CNBC
Locations:
Tokyo, Japan