FX.co ★ Japan Panel Proposes 6% Minimum Wage Hike

A Japanese Labor Ministry panel recommended a 63 yen, or 6.0%, increase in the average minimum hourly wage for this fiscal year on Monday. This boost exceeds last year's proposed 50-yen rise and constitutes the largest increase since at least 2002, as the government endeavors to maintain wage-driven economic growth. The proposed adjustment would elevate the average minimum wage to 1,118 yen ($7.57) per hour, a Labor Ministry official reported, surpassing last year's 5% uptick and representing the most significant rise since the inception of the current system 23 years ago. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's commitment last year to make "untiring efforts" to increase the average minimum wage by 42% to 1,500 yen per hour by the decade's end—an objective advanced from the original mid-2030s deadline set by the previous administration—underscores the government's determination.