Minimum hourly wages are expected to rise more than recommended by a government advisory panel for fiscal 2026 in at least 17 of Japan’s 47 prefectures, a tally showed Wednesday. Of the 30 prefectures that had finalized their revised amounts by Wednesday, wage increases in the 17 prefectures exceeded the recommended levels by ¥1 to ¥4, compared with a maximum of ¥18 in the previous year. The revised wage levels are scheduled to take effect in October.
New wages for the remaining 17 prefectures will be decided as early as the end of this month. The Central Minimum Wages Council, which advises the labor minister, divides the 47 prefectures into three groups based on economic conditions. In July, the council proposed an increase of ¥54 for the top-tier A group and ¥56 for the middle-tier B and bottom-tier C groups.
Local councils in Miyagi and Tottori prefectures decided to raise their hourly minimum wages by ¥60 — to ¥1,098 and ¥1,090, respectively — for fiscal 2026. On Tuesday, the local council in Akita Prefecture proposed that the minimum wage be raised by ¥59, which is expected to take effect Oct. 14. In fiscal 2025, the prefecture’s minimum wage was hiked by ¥80, topping the recommended level for the year by ¥16.
The revision took effect belatedly at the end of March this year to allow companies time to prepare. The easing of competition among prefectures to raise wages is attributed to a softer stance by the central government, which has effectively postponed the goal of achieving a nationwide average minimum wage of ¥1,500 in the 2020s. Also, the central council has said that it is “not appropriate” for local councils to promote wage hikes to unrealistic levels to prevent their prefectures from being ranked at the bottom.
Meanwhile, Yamanashi Gov. Kotaro Nagasaki urged the prefecture’s council to consider increasing the minimum wage, saying, “It’s difficult to maintain living standards with the current minimum wage.” While raising the minimum wage is essential for workers’ livelihoods, it may also increase the cost burden on small and midsize companies, analysts said.
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