Japan real wages mark 1st fall in 2 yrs amid rising inflation

Japan’s real wages dropped 0.9 percent in 2022 from the previous year for the first decline in two years amid rising inflation, government data showed Tuesday, while household spending continued recovering moderately following the coronavirus pandemic.

The slide in inflation-adjusted wages signaled that food, energy and other price increases, driven largely by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, outpaced pay hikes, despite Prime Minister Fumio Kishida calling on business leaders to raise wages in line with inflation to create a positive growth cycle.

Nominal wages, or the average total cash earnings...