Japan real wages log 1st fall in 3 months amid continued price rises

I would suggest the top % skews the average income immensely. Most 'average' households have a wife working part time, and that sort of job brings in about 160-180,000.

Not every 'average' Taro is a Doctor or Lawmaker.

Maybe I'm wrong?

Wages aren’t going up. Just look at job boards. They are as pathetic as always

All together now: "Shou ga nai!"

1st fall in 3 months 

More like the 27th fall in the last 29 months! Let’s keep it real and not use semantics to obfuscate.

Price increases are in the double digits. And wages have fallen for 2 1/2 years. Facts.

If that’s not poor government, it’s definitely poor something!

Wages in many sectors here haven’t gone up in decades, let alone a few months. The cost of living certainly has though. Consumption tax was 0% at one point in the past, it’s now 10%. Come on Japan, you can do better!

it aims to create a positive cycle in which rising wages boost consumer spending.

Like… a bubble?

Or are people supposed to actually be getting nowhere but all are fooled into believing their are doing 2% better because of the inflation?

Economics can surely do better than this.

Government policies are just one part...the companies (specially the big ones) are the ones that are hoarding the money and "investing" it overseas.

Compnaies should "liberate" their funds to increase wages, to pay better to sub contractors and suply chain companies, etc.

The rich should be also less rich, if thay gain USD 1000000 per year they should pay 45% more or less of their income too.

Japan is a free country. Companies have no obligation to raise wages just because the government is asking them to. If the new PM is serious about boosting consumer spending and winning the upcoming parliamentary election, just abolish the 10 percent consumption tax.

Gimmie a break! "Real wages" as calculated by the same people who put out the other suspicious statistics regarding employment and anything else related to the economy.

One, these "wages" are calculated from the information provided by businesses and is about FULLY employed people here in Japan, now some like less than 30% of the total workforce here, and not to mention that the demographics of the data is purposely not shared here.

Dont want to scare the sheeples!

Average monthly nominal wages for full-time workers rose 2.7 percent to 377,861 yen, while part-time workers saw monthly pay increase 3.9 percent to 110,033 yen.

PT workers, which constitute nearly 40% of the total workforce make 1/3 LESS than fulltime employees

Average spending by households of two or more people stood at 297,487 yen, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said.

BS.... this total is ONLY from those who are considered FULL TIME! It's also nearly 3 times what a PT person makes!

Nominal wages, or the average total monthly cash earnings per worker including base and overtime pay, grew 3.0 percent to 296,588 yen ($2,000)

My condolences goes towards those grinding and working overtime to earn peanuts. If that was my pay with overtime, I'm telling my job their poor planning doesn't constitute an emergency for me, and so I will leave on time and there is nothing they can do about it.

Japan should give capitalism a try. The LDP's pseudo-communist approach doesn't seem to be working very well. Our new PM doesn't have a clue -- he's only thinking about his erection.

I repeat my advice to young people. Japan is the Titanic and you should escape this sinking ship while you still can. The people in steerage are not going to make it.

Sage advice @Tim Sullivan. I tell young people here to study hard and move overseas. Their eyes light up when I mention the average salary/minium wage in my home country.

Interns in US make more than senior managerial positions here in Japan.

Interns in US make more than senior managerial positions here in Japan.

Costs of living are higher in the U.S.

The average is the most annoying and misleading metric. Give us at least medians.

Exactly why are prices sky rocketing? Can someone explain it to me? Fresh fruit has become a luxury item. A lot of people are on the poverty line. Why is this?

Democratic, print money 'till you die strategy at work. Well done, you thieves!

Costs of living are higher in the U.S.

U.S. inflation is at 2.9%. In the U.S., the unemployment rate is near a 50-year low. Interest rates are dropping. Wages are up 2%. Disposable income is up 6.6%. Wealth is up 17.4%.

Now the pandemic did set off an inflation spiral, so a lot of prices are still much higher than they were a few years ago. But inflation has cooled almost all the way back down to where it was before the pandemic.

But how is the U.S. doing compared to the rest of the world?

If there’s an economic Olympics, the U.S. takes gold. It is recovering faster, getting more jobs and more GDP, and its inflation is falling backs towards normal faster than most any other country.

@Bertie:Exactly why are prices sky rocketing? Can someone explain it to me?

Oil prices soaring, most of the expense goes to transportations. 80 dollars per barrel and still go up and up....

Japan has no oil production and she is not smart like China. The Chinese government get discounted oil from Russia, Iran and Iraq that smoothed some of the nation's inflation. Japan angered Russia and cut off oil imports from Iran was she must pay higher price for transportation and those expenses to be pay by ordinary people ！

Shinzo Abe will be very proud in heaven to see his Abenomics working with inflation rising quickly!

It's been easy to visit Japan these past several years from the US and be overjoyed at how far the dollar goes, but anyone with family in Japan knows that Japanese folks are generally having a tough time at it. It's amazing how little most Japanese people earn at their jobs.

Even JET hasn't had much of a pay increase in the 20 years since I was on it. Eikaiwa jobs? Forget about it. Sometimes I poke around on the Gaijinpot job ads that pop up here, and an English monkey gig pays like $20K US per year now. Good luck with those Christmas trips to Thailand, or trying to get into skiing or snowboarding, complete with a small car to get you to the mountain.... the types of things that were once all staples of living and working in Japan for a few years a generation ago. You'd be lucky if you even can afford to go party every weekend on those wages.

It breaks my heart to say it, but the cruel truth is that Japan is falling behind the rest of the developed world. It's well on its way to becoming a third world country again. The party that is responsible for the disastrous decline in our living standards is certain to be reelected again this month. It doesn't make any sense. My only emotion is despair. What about our young people?

Inflation is just so the government can reduce their debt, and in the UK, US we feel our property has gone up in value,compared to when we bought it, and our mortgage seems so cheap. All smoke and mirrors. the only way for Mr Honda and Ms Suzuki, is to invest. But the kicker here is, you gotta earn enough to invest, taking that money out of the family economy. So it seems like robbing to today, to spend tomorrow. But most have taken a hit to their salary. Salary increases are just mute if you're spending more on food, drink, clothes, juku, etc. Was deflation really that bad? or just bad for the government? Bonus's will fall in the future years, as shareholders demand MORE DIVIDENDS.

Even JET hasn't had much of a pay increase in the 20 years since I was on it. Eikaiwa jobs? Forget about it. Sometimes I poke around on the Gaijinpot job ads that pop up here, and an English monkey gig pays like $20K US per year now.

Most of my income is from teaching. I make about 950,000 / month before taxes. So while it's not every teaching job, you're essentially right; most Eikaiwa jobs pay terrible.

Most of my income is from teaching. I make about 950,000 / month before taxes. So while it's not every teaching job, you're essentially right; most Eikaiwa jobs pay terrible.

If you're not trolling us, what's your hourly rate? I got 4,000 yen when I washed up on these shores in 1989 and had the temerity to charge 10,000 yen an hour for private lessons (there were plenty of takers).

All slopes are slippery and Japan's slide into poverty continues.

But still those are real wages and only the minority is affected, although a very big minority of course. Nobody talks or cares about the majority of people who don't even have any wages.

Nothing but peanuts!

elephant200,

Thanks for answering my question.

Oil prices soaring, most of the expense goes to transportations. 80 dollars per barrel and still go up and up....

I had considered this too. But for the last year, there has been little or no increase in petrol prices. In Okinawa, it's been hovering around ¥152 - ¥158. Is the petrol price being bolstered?

And I agree with you about Japan not being very clever about securing her energy sources. I think it's about time Japan cut the umbilicus and made her own decisions.

an English monkey gig pays like $20K US per year now.

English teachers do not care about money at all. They are just so thrilled and excited to be in Japan. My friend runs an English conversation school and offers 160,000 a month for full time teachers and is getting swamped with applications. He says he is going to drop the rate to 150,000 a month because of the demand.

If you're not trolling us, what's your hourly rate? I got 4,000 yen when I washed up on these shores in 1989 and had the temerity to charge 10,000 yen an hour for private lessons (there were plenty of takers).

Not trolling. (On this, anyway. There are much better topics to troll than this one.)

Depends on the client. One is 8800 + tax. Another, I charge by the job, but it's 5000 for some projects and a lot more when they have me do some translation / interpretation. Oh, yeah, sorry. My bad. Not just Eikaiwa.

Sorry. Still not a troll, but not just teaching either. Anyway, top paying clients for teaching is 7000, 8800+tax and about 10,000/hr depending on the month (fixed monthly payment for weekly classes)

4000/hr in '89 is good!

But I'm going to get out of English teaching within the next few years.

But I'm going to get out of English teaching within the next few years

A friendly warning -- it's easy to get trapped here:

"He's got this dream about buying some land

He's gonna give up the booze

And the one night stands

And then he'll settle down

In some quiet little town

And forget about everything"

These are article about average value. at present Japan where inequality expanding and prices increasing, real wages of low income people are far lower.

"He says he is going to drop the rate to 150,000 a month because of the demand."

Perhaps 'supply' (of English teachers) would have been the more accurate term, rather than 'demand'...but your example is excellent, on-topic and perfectly illustrates the fall in real wages!

While it sucks to be grinding for these sorts of wages, Japan can be a great place to live if you're smart enough to get above the fray and save/invest a decent amount. You don't need to be an expert in personal finance to know that 1oku (100m) yen here will go a lot further than $1m in the US ever would.

Anyone interested in earning big money here would be wise to find a niche product and export it.

Not complicated and once set up runs on a schedule to fit work/ life balance admirably.