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☆ Japan's central bank starts its monetary policy meeting today. Here's what's in focus
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-30 | by ( Lim Hui Jie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Javier Ghersi | Moment | Getty ImagesJapan's central bank kicks off its July monetary policy meeting on Tuesday, with traders focused on its decision on interest rate and government bond purchases. Economists polled by Reuters expect the BOJ to increase its benchmark interest rate to 0.1% from the current range of 0% to 0.1%. BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda said in June that the central bank could raise rates "depending on economic, price and financial data and information available at the time," Reuters reported. "Our decision on bond-buying taper and interest rate hikes are two different things," Ueda told the country's parliament. The headline inflation rate has been above the BOJ's 2% target for more than two years.

Persons: Javier Ghersi, Kazuo Ueda, Ueda, Bond Organizations: Bank of, Reuters, ING, Bank of America, realty, Bank of Japan, Japanese Trade Union Confederation Locations: Japan, Bank of Japan

☆ Why Japan's 'shunto' wage hikes may not bring cheer to over 80% of its workers
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Lim Hui Jie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

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

REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File PhotoTOKYO, March 17 (Reuters) - Japan's major companies have concluded their annual labour talks with average wage hikes of 3.8% for the coming fiscal year, the largest raise in about three decades, trade union confederation Rengo said on Friday. The preliminary survey of 805 unions affiliated with Rengo showed the average hike rate of 11,844 yen ($89) per month, according to the labour organisation. "Many unions received in full or exceeded their demand for wage hikes," Rengo chief Tomoko Yoshino told a news conference. Those businesses have often struggled to pass on rising costs to their customers. It's unclear whether the rising wage trend will be sustainable, let alone create the "virtuous cycle" of stronger economic growth and 2% inflation long sought by Japan's central bank.

☆ Japan unions ask average 4.5% wage hike, biggest since 1990s
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Kantaro Komiya | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A survey of more than 2,000 unions nationwide showed an average 4.49% raise request for this year, first time above 4% since 1998's 4.36%, according to the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (JTUC). Despite the higher cost burden, major Japanese firms have promised large pay increases to retain skilled workers amid labour crunch. The JTUC preliminary survey showed the average union demand during this year's annual labour talks, called "shunto" in Japanese, was much larger than 2022's 2.97%. JTUC, commonly known as "Rengo", is the largest labour organisation in the country representing about seven million workers. Bank of Japan officials have said the outcome of the wage hikes is an important criterion to determine the future course of its ultra-loose monetary policy.

Last month, he called on companies to hike pay at a level above inflation, with some already heeding the call. Last month, Japan recorded its biggest drop in earnings, once inflation is taken into account, in nearly a decade. A changing job marketExperts say Japan’s wages have also suffered because it lags in another metric: its productivity rate. Hideya Tokiyoshi, a teacher in Japan, told CNN he had barely seen his salary go up over the last 30 years. “If some of the biggest companies in Japan raise wages, many other firms will follow,” if only to stay competitive, said Yamaguchi.

Tokyo CNN —Japan is grappling with the biggest drop in living standards in nearly a decade as inflation continues to soar. Japan saw a 3.8% year-on-year fall in inflation-adjusted wages in November, data published by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare showed. It’s the biggest fall since May 2014, when a consumption tax hike at the time caused a 4.1% decline, according to data published by the ministry. Companies must generate profits and then properly distribute them to workers,” Kishida said Thursday while speaking at a New Year gathering hosted by Japan’s three major business lobbies. Wages in Japan have largely hovered at the same level over the last decade, according to the latest data published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

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