Economy

Japan Real Wages Fall for 5th Month in May

Yomiuri Shimbun file photo
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo

Jiji Press

18:07 JST, July 7, 2025

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Real wages in Japan dropped 2.9% from a year earlier in May, extending their losing streak to five months amid food price spikes, a labor ministry report showed Monday.

The inflation-adjusted wage drop at companies with at least five employees was the largest since September 2023, reflecting faster growth chiefly in food prices than that in wages, people familiar with the matter said.

The report also showed that nominal wages rose 1.0% to ¥300,141 per worker, up for the 41st straight month. Regular salaries increased 2.1%, but an 18.7% tumble in extraordinary pay, such as bonuses, limited the overall wage growth. Full-time workers were paid ¥384,696 on average, up 1.1%, and part-timers ¥112,440, up 3.5%.

The ministry said the consumer price index climbed 4.0% in May when imputed rent was excluded to calculate the real wage index, compared with a 3.5% rise in the comprehensive CPI in the same month.

When the rent was factored in, Japan’s internationally comparable real wages declined 2.4%, it added.