Wage Hike Demands in 2026 "Shunto" Average 5.94 Pct

Tokyo, March 5 (Jiji Press)--The weighted average of wage hike demands by labor unions in this year's "shunto" spring labor-management negotiations in Japan came to 5.94 pct as of Monday, the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, or Rengo, said Thursday.

Large hikes were requested by many small firms aiming to narrow the pay gap with major companies.

The average exceeded Rengo's target of 5 pct or more although it was lower than last year's average rate of 6.09 pct, which was the sharpest in 32 years.

The wage demand survey by Rengo for the 2026 shunto covered 2,508 member labor unions that adopt a system to negotiate wages per employee.

The average request for pay scale and regular hikes stood at 19,506 yen, up 262 yen from the previous year.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]