“Shunto” Spring Wage Talks Kick Off in Japan

Jiji Press

16:28 JST, January 27, 2026

Tokyo, Jan. 27 (Jiji Press)—The Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, and the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, or Rengo, held a meeting of their leaders on Tuesday, effectively marking the start of this year’s “shunto” spring wage talks.

At the meeting in Tokyo, Keidanren Chairman Yoshinobu Tsutsui and Rengo President Tomoko Yoshino shared the view that it is important to cement the momentum for wage increases.

The focus of the latest negotiations is whether the wage hike trend will be maintained after achieving pay increases of 5 pct or more for two consecutive years in the 2025 shunto talks, so that wage growth will outpace inflation.

“There is a very strong consensus on Keidanren’s basic policy that strong momentum for wage hikes needs to be further established,” Tsutsui said at the beginning of the meeting.

“We hope to deepen mutual understanding and work together through frank exchanges of opinions,” he said.

Rengo’s Yoshino said, “I believe there is almost no contradiction in the basic recognition between labor and management.”

“We want to further deepen this understanding in labor-management negotiations to ensure results,” she added.

In its basic policy for the 2026 shunto, adopted last November, Rengo, the umbrella body for labor unions across the country, decided to demand wage hikes of at least 5 pct, comprising base pay scale increases and regular pay hikes, for the third straight year.

Meanwhile, Keidanren has vowed to play a leading role in further establishing the wage growth trend in its guidelines for member companies regarding this year’s shunto.

Real wages in Japan have continued to fall as income growth has failed to outpace rising prices.

“Only a small number of people feel that their lives have improved, and consumer spending is still sluggish,” Rengo has said, calling for spreading wage increases to small and midsize companies.