(Update) Japan "Shunto" Wage Talks Begin with Labor-Management Forum

   Tokyo, Jan. 31 (Jiji Press)--A labor-management forum meeting hosted by the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, was held in Tokyo on Friday, effectively kicking off this year's "shunto" spring wage negotiations, whose focus is on whether the previous year's strong pay hike momentum seen among large firms will spread to smaller businesses.
   The 2024 shunto resulted in salaries rising by over 5 pct as a whole, but hikes at small and medium-sized companies, which account for some 70 pct of the country's employment, were far lower than the average.
   The Japanese Trade Union Confederation, or Rengo, the umbrella organization for labor unions, is seeking this year an overall wage hike of at least 5 pct, including pay-scale increases, and a hike of 6 pct or more at small and midsize firms.
   But Keidanren, which comprises the country's major companies, calls the target for smaller firms "extremely high," although it acknowledges the need to raise the wages of workers there amid prolonged inflation.
   In his opening remarks at the forum with Rengo, Keidanren Chairman Masakazu Tokura emphasized that Japan is "entering a critical phase for realizing a 'virtuous cycle of growth and distribution.'" He then called for "efforts across supply chains" to enable smaller suppliers to reflect rising costs in prices to secure funds for pay hikes.

(2025/01/31-21:59)

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