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Kishida Asks Firms To Achieve Larger Pay Hikes In 2024 Than This Year

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Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday asked Japanese firms to raise wages at a faster pace than this year, as the world's third-largest economy is at a crossroads in completely emerging from deflation.

"I'd like to seek your cooperation in realizing pay hikes that will exceed this year's," Kishida told a meeting organized by Japan's most powerful business lobby, known as Keidanren. He did not give a numerical target.

Kishida also underscored the need to support people's disposable incomes, with a scheduled tax cut to be implemented next year.

The comments came before annual shunto wage negotiations between management and labor unions that will begin early next year.

In terms of pay increases, Japan saw its best outcome in about three decades for the current business year, with an average 3.99 percent rise agreed on by major firms and 3 percent by smaller firms.

The government and the Bank of Japan see further wage growth as crucial in helping households rise out of the current cost-of-living crisis and getting the nation to achieve stable inflation.

Masakazu Tokura, who heads Keidanren, formally called the Japan Business Federation, said it is important to go ahead with wage hikes "with more energy and stronger determination" than this year to completely beat deflation in cooperation with the government.




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