Financial Times (February 17)
“For a generation of Japanese entering the workforce this year, their entire lives have been spent with three things stuck at zero: inflation, interest rates and the chances of the shunto ‘spring offensive’ of wage demands being anything other than a crushing disappointment.” It remains unclear if 2022 will be the year something changes. “Real wages have risen just 0.39 per cent since 2000 and South Korea now outstrips Japan in average pay.”
Tags: Average pay, Inflation, Interest rates, Japan, Shunto, South Korea, Wage demands, Workforce, Zero
Financial Times (February 19)
“The best news on Japan’s economy is coming from the jobs market, where there are signs of labour shortages, and organic pressure for higher wages.” The real test of “whether Abenomics is working” will come from the annual “shunto” labour talks. “If wage growth is not higher than last year it will be a worrying sign.”
