Global financial markets have been closely watching Japan's wage data, as Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda regards pay growth as a key gauge to consider in deliberations about a shift in policy.
Regular wages rose 1.8% in May from a year before, labour ministry data showed, the biggest gain since February 1995.
The strong base pay growth boosted worker's total cash earnings, or nominal wages, by 2.5% in May, after a revised 0.8% increase logged in April.
Still, real wages contracted 1.2% in May, the 14th consecutive month of year-on-year declines, as relentless consumer inflation outstrips nominal pay growth and squeezes households' buying power.
On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, household spending was down 1.1%, versus an estimated 0.5% gain to mark a fourth month of decline.
Persons:
Kazuo Ueda, Kuroda, Hisashi Yamada, Rengo, Takumi Tsunoda, Shinichi Uchida, Taro Saito, Satoshi Sugiyama, Kantaro, Tetsushi Kajimoto, Sam Holmes
Organizations:
Global, Bank of Japan, Hosei University, Shinkin Central Bank Research, Nikkei, BOJ's, NLI Research, Thomson
Locations:
TOKYO