Major Japan Firms’ Average Winter Bonus Tops ¥1 Mil.

Jiji Press

21:54 JST, December 24, 2025

TOKYO — This year’s winter bonuses at large companies in Japan averaged ¥1,004,841, topping ¥1 million  for the first time since comparable data became available in 1981, a survey showed Wednesday.

The average rose 8.57% from a year before, up for the fourth consecutive year, according to the survey conducted by the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren.

The pace of increase was the second-fastest on record, after 8.92% in 2022. The previous record high was ¥951,411 , marked in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The latest results reflected “robust earnings mainly in the manufacturing industry,” a Keidanren official said.

The average “hit a record high, as it did in the summer,” the official also said. “We confirmed that strong momentum for wage hikes has taken root.”

Bonuses among manufacturers averaged ¥1,056,966 , up 10.09%, with the average rising 18.88% in the oil sector, 17.25% in the automobile sector and 12.25% in the chemical sector.