Japan’s real wages fall in Nov. at sharpest pace in 8 yrs

Japan’s inflation-adjusted average monthly wage dropped 3.8 percent in November amid higher food and energy prices, marking the sharpest fall in eight years and six months and declining for the eighth straight month, the labor ministry said Friday.

While the government of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has called on firms to raise wages to match inflation in order to create a positive growth cycle, the preliminary figures in the ministry’s monthly labor survey show that price increases in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continue to outpace pay hikes.

Pay rises are expected to be the mai...