Japan Small Firms Raising Wages amid Labor Shortages: Govt Paper

Tokyo, May 12 (Jiji Press)--Wage hikes are spreading among small companies in Japan, which account for about 70 pct of the country's employment, on the back of labor shortages and price increases, according to a Japanese government white paper. 

At the same time, the 2024 White Paper on Small and Medium Enterprises in Japan said that such firms need to step up moves to pass on higher costs to prices and secure sufficient funds to boost wages, in order to achieve sustainable wage growth.

According to the white paper, which was adopted at Friday's cabinet meeting, 61.3 pct of small companies in Japan plan to raise wages in 2024, while the price pass-through rate for such firms stood at 45.7 pct as of September 2023, showing that many small companies are still unable to have raw material and other cost increases reflected in transaction prices.

The white paper also pointed out that labor productivity of Japan is lower than that of other member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, with labor shortages becoming more serious amid an economic recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic.

There is a growing need to increase labor productivity at small companies in order for Japan to achieve economic growth that can compete internationally, the white paper said.

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