Japan real wages up for sixth straight month in June
Passersby walk on a pedestrian crossing in Tokyo, Japan, on May 19, 2026. (Photo: REUTERS/Issei Kato)
TOKYO: Japan's real wages grew 1.6 per cent in June from a year before, a sixth consecutive month of increases, government data showed on Wednesday, supporting the case for more rate hikes by the central bank.
Average nominal wages, or total cash earnings, rose 3.4 per cent to 531,677 yen (US$3,373.6) a month, faster than a revised 3.3 per cent gain in May.
The growth in real pay matched May's revised 1.6 per cent gain.
Workers' base salaries, or regular pay, increased 3.4 per cent, accelerating from a 3.0 per cent rise in May. Overtime pay growth in June stood at 2.8 per cent, the same rate as in May after a downward revision.
Special payments, consisting mostly of one-time bonuses that tend to be volatile, rose 3.5 per cent in June after a revised 7.4 per cent growth for May.
In its latest economic forecast released last month, Japan's government projected nominal wages to rise 3.1 per cent annually through fiscal 2027 and real wages to keep growing despite persistent inflation.
The Bank of Japan maintained interest rates at its July policy meeting. Governor Kazuo Ueda mentioned upside risks to prices, seen as a nod for another rate hike as soon as September.
