JAPAN TIMES


 

The average summer bonus at major Japanese companies this year dropped 2.17 percent from a year earlier to ¥901,147, a Japan Business Federation survey showed Wednesday.

The average amount fell for the second consecutive year reflecting the global economic slowdown and the novel coronavirus pandemic although it stood above ¥900,000 for three years in a row.

The pandemic’s effects “could be greater for winter bonuses than summer bonuses,” said an official of the biggest Japanese group of employers, known as Keidanren.

Summer bonuses averaged ¥893,015 in the manufacturing industry, down 1.78 percent, and ¥931,919 in the nonmanufacturing sector, down 2.79 percent.

Thirteen of the 18 sectors covered in the survey saw bonuses drop from the year-before levels, including steelmakers, and the machinery and metals sector, which suffered a drop of 24.8 percent and 11.21 percent, respectively.

The hotel and commerce sectors also saw decreases in summer bonuses, due to a decline in the number of tourists and trends to stay home amid the coronavirus epidemic.

The survey covered 257 companies that are listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s first section and have at least 500 workers. Results were available from 153 of the firms.