Press Conference by Minister Saito (Excerpt)

*Note: This is a provisional translation for reference purposes only.

10:38 to 10:42 a.m.
Friday, July 5, 2024
Press Conference Room, METI Main Building

Opening Remarks

None

Question-and-Answer Session

Wage hikes

Q: I would like to ask you about wage hikes.
According to the final tally of the results of the shunto wage negotiations announced by the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (RENGO) the day before yesterday, the average rate of wage hike was at a high level, surpassing 5% for the first time in 33 years. On the other hand, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have not made sufficient progress in implementing price pass-through—they have failed to make as much progress as large companies. Please tell me about your view on the results of the recent shunto negotiations and about future efforts that the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) will make to expand the wage hike movement.

A: First, according to the final tally of the results of the shunto springtime labor-management wage negotiations announced by RENGO on July 3, the overall average rate of wage hikes came to 5.10% for the first time in 33 years, while the average rate of wage hikes among SMEs came to 4.45% for the first time in 32 years. Those rates are far higher than the rates recorded last year.

As indicated by that, the Japanese economy is now facing a sea change, so I believe that we are at a critical moment. Going forward, we aim to further spread this wage hike movement, which is stronger than last year’s movement, including among local companies and among SMEs.

As you may already know, on June 25, METI started accepting applications for the catalogue-based subsidy program for labor saving investments by SMEs as a measure to support productivity improvement, so I hope that this program will be used. In addition, while METI is devoting vigorous efforts to promoting the use of the tax program for promoting wage hikes, which has been enhanced in the current fiscal year, we must do our utmost to promote thorough price pass-through, including the passing-through of increased labor costs.