Fumio Kishida, prime minister of Japan, urged many companies to raise wages at a faster pace than inflation rates, saying that wages did not rise much in the past 30 years despite robust profits.
His statement came not long after Seiji Kihara, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan said late last year that the government will make increasing wages a top priority, pointing out that the biggest challenge for Japan’s economy is a lack of wage growth.
Kihara noted that consumption will not pick up and companies will not increase investment unless wages are raised. Meanwhile, the government will support corporate with tax incentives.
Following Kihara’s statement, Japan’s PM also said that corporate wealth did not trickle down to households, while noting that he wanted to recreate an economic structure where wages could be raised every year.
