Ishiba Calls for Large Wage Hikes in 2025 Shunto

Tokyo, Nov. 26 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Tuesday called for wage hikes in next year's "shunto" labor-management talks to be as large as this year's.

"It is important for the momentum for wage increases to reach small and medium-sized companies, which are responsible for 70 pct of the country's employment, and people working in rural areas," Ishiba said at a meeting of government, labor and management representatives at the prime minister's office.

At the government-labor-management meeting, the first since Ishiba took office in October, the prime minister instructed relevant ministers, including economic and fiscal policy minister Ryosei Akazawa, to draw up measures by next spring to achieve the goal of raising the country's average minimum hourly wage to 1,500 yen by the end of the 2020s.

Similar tripartite meetings will be held in each prefecture next year, mainly in January and February, to boost the momentum for wage increases.

In the 2025 shunto talks, the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, or Rengo, plans to demand a wage increase of 5 pct or more.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]